The Darkest Memories, The Greatest Talent
by Nova Gallaway
Summary: When Derek thought he found a way out of his life, life decided to give him a second chance.
1. Introduction

**Big thanks to _LovePawPatrol for approving my first Paw Patrol Story. . . Enjoy everyone!_**

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Introduction. . .

'Why am I here?' The teenager focused his forest green eyes on the bright full moon that out shown almost all the stars in the dark sky. He shifted his body to place his hands on his knees.

'Why am I about to do this? Anyone who looked at my life would say it's perfect. I preform to screaming fans in sold out arenas and stadiums every night all over the world. I've had more number one hits in two years than some music artists do in their lifetime. I've got friends that would do anything for me and I could date any girl (or boy for that matter) that I wanted.'

'So why does my life feel so empty?' As his eyes started to fill with tears, he started to play with the brown leather bracelet on his right wrist. He traced the strands of black leather that crisscrossed through the two inch wide brown leather like shoelaces, until he got to where the two ends of the bracelet came together with a buckle like clasp. A wry smile played across his face as remembered where he got it. After his first stage performance ever, someone threw it to him on stage. He'd always wondered why someone would throw a bracelet of all things. But, He liked it anyway because it reminded him of night he conquered his stage fright. It was also the night that changed his life forever, for better and worse.

'Probably because I know that I lucked into becoming a star. Two years ago no one even knew my name, I had no friends, and any girl (or guy) I might want to date wouldn't even give me a second glance. Maybe it's because I know that if all my fame and fortune disappeared tomorrow, all of my friends would vanish as well. I would end up where I started, lonely and afraid.'

He suddenly stood up and walked to the edge of the rock cliff. The teen brushed a stand of blond hair out of his face and gazed down into the deep dark ocean. A fall from this height would surely kill him.

Maybe that was the idea. . .

Maybe he knew the dark waters would make sure his body would never be found. . .

Another wry smile crossed his face because he could already see the headlines that would be plastered on newspapers and magazines in a few days' time. . .

 **Australian Superstar Derek Dundee Disappears in Melbourne. . .**

'Or, something like that,' Derek thought. Steeling his nerves, he closed his eyes, and let himself freefall into the ocean below.

* * *

When Derek opened his eyes again, he found himself lying down on a sofa in what appeared to be a very nice living room. Sitting up, he glanced around the room and quickly realized that this was no ordinary room. The walls, the ceiling, and the fabrics, were all pure white; the only exception to the all-white rule where the tables and most of the accessories, which were almost blindingly bright gold.

"Hey Derek, I'm glad your awake. Look, I've got another appointment in a few minutes. So, I'll get right to the point." A female voice spoke in an Australian accent like his.

Derek looked across the marble top coffee table to see a blond woman with wings, dressed in an all-white business suit, seated in a chair. "Who are you?"

"Who I am is not important. What I'm going to say is." She got up from her chair and sat down next to him. She took his hand in her own, and said. "No matter what you think, I see something special in you. Derek, you have a hidden talent, besides singing, that will save lives. I want you to do something with that talent. So, I talked this over with my boss. I'm going to be sending you back." He started to speak, but she put up a finger to stop him. "Don't tell me all you can do is sing, because that's not true. Just remember that your greatest gift came out of your darkest memories."

She glanced at the watch, which was gold as well, and spoke again. "Now, I can't send you back like a human. Rules are rules. But I think what I have in mind will give you everything you wanted in this life. A job you want to do, family and friends to love, and maybe even someone to spend the rest of your next life with. Make the most of this opportunity. I don't want to see you here again for a long time."

With that she walked up to him and place two fingers to his forehead, and closed her eyes. A split second later there was a bright flash of light.


	2. The New Pup

**Wow, I'm impressed. . . Two reviews in an hour, Thanks. . . Now on with the story!**

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Chapter 1. . .

'Now what happened?' Derek blinked a few times. As he did, a lush green forest full of tall trees came into view all around him. Noticing that nothing looked familiar to him, he spoke out loud. "Guess I'm not in Australia anymore." He started to put his hands on the ground, but when he saw his hands, he froze and his eyes grew wide.

Instead of having two hands and two feet, Derek now had four paws covered in semi coarse, ginger colored fur. 'This must have been what she meant when she said she couldn't send me back as a human. So she decided to send me back as a pup instead? Oh well, let's lust see what happens. If this life gives me everything she said it would, it's totally worth becoming a dog. Hmm, maybe since I have a new life, I should give myself a new name.' He smiled, 'or I could just use part of my old last name. Yea,' he smiled wider. 'Dundee.'

After getting on his paws for the first time, he looked around. It was a pretty dense forest, but looking up, he could still see the sun it the sky. 'Only a few more hours of daylight left. Guess I need to find some sort of water, food and shelter for the night.' He closed his eyes and started to focus on his hearing. Instantly, he heard the sound of running water not too far away. Dundee opened his eyes and followed the sound of the running water. Only a few minutes later, he found the stream and couldn't help but congratulate himself. "Bonza, I still got it!" He said to the forest.

As he bent his head down for a drink, he got a better look at the new him and smiled. He noticed that even though pretty much everything about him was different, some things stayed the same. His saw that eyes where still bright forest green, and his brown and black leather bracelet was now fashioned into his collar. 'At least she didn't change me completely.'

Dundee was about to turn around when a scent on the breeze caught his attention. 'Salt water . . . this must lead to an ocean nearby! Now, I just need to follow it downstream.'

After about an hour or so walking, Dundee picked up three other scents from nearby dogs. Instantly, he started walking away the stream and followed the scents. 'There's a mix breed,' he sniffed the air again, 'a German Sheppard, and probably a Dalmatian. . . Wait . . . How did I do that? . . . Oh, right, a dog's sense of smell is better than humans.' He blushed even though no one could see. 'I knew that.' Soon he heard voices ahead in a clearing, three of them. 'Man I'm good!'

Dundee kept walking toward the voices and eventually he got close enough to where he could see the three pups just like he thought. "Yes!" He said. 'Crud, too loud' was his immediate thought. He was right. Before he could react, the German Shepard had him pinned to the ground.

"Who are you and what are you doing here?" He barked.

"Chase, what are you doing?" The Dalmatian followed. "Get off him."

"Yea," the mix breed came over last. "Let him go."

Chase eased up a little as Dundee finally opened his eyes and looked into the shepherd's face, and gulped. "Sorry." Then he glanced above Chase's head and saw a cracked tree limb, a large cracked tree limb. By the way it was moving, he knew it was coming down right on top of the two of them if they didn't move now.

"LOOK OUT!" Dundee yelled shoving the German shepherd off him just as the limb came crashing down sending a cloud of dust into the air.

"Chase, are you okay?" Marshall asked, unable to see anything through the dust. "Chase?"

"I'm fine," The German Shepherd said coughing a few times. "But the other pup is trapped under the limb." His voice was filled with concern. "The dust will clear in a second," he reassured them. "Then we'll be able to make a plan." Then he turned to the dusty outline of the limb, and addressed the trapped pup. "Pup, can you hear me?" Nothing. . . As the dust settled, Chase could start to make out the familiar forms of Marshall and Rocky. He could also see the new pup's almost completely still form under the large branch.

Making a quick decision, he called out his plan. "I can see him breathing, so we need to work fast. We're going to need Rocky's forklift to move the branch. . . Marshall, you and Rocky go back to the Lookout and tell Ryder what's going on." Both pups gave a bark in conformation. "I'll stay here just in case he wakes up."

"On it Chase," Marshall said. "Let's go Rocky!" The Mix breed nodded.

As they ran back to the Lookout, Chase laid down next to the unknown pup. Just as he was about to speak, the pup moaned.

"What happened?" Dundee said, and then remembered. 'Right. . . Forest, dog, German Shepherd, and the tree branch, got it' He tried to move, but soon realized he couldn't.

"Don't try to move until we get the branch off of you." He glanced over to see the pup lying next to him.

"Okay. . . Chase right?" Dundee asked. When the shepherd nodded he added, "I'm Dundee."

"Sorry for jumping on you." Chase cast his amber eyes to the ground. "I tend to be a little over protective of my friends when were away from the Lookout."

Dundee gave a small smile, "that's ok mate." Then his green eyes grew curious. "Who is 'we'?"

Chase could hear the others approaching. "We can talk about that later, right now we need to get this branch off you and check out your injuries." Seconds later three vehicles and an ATV drove through the trees and into the clearing. Along with Marshall's red ambulance and Rocky's green truck, there was an english bulldog on a construction truck and a human teenager on the ATV.

The human came over to them and said, "Chase, how's. . ." then the human seemed to realize something. He turned to the pup he was trying to rescue and said. "What's your name, pup?"

"Dundee. . . "

"Right, I'm Ryder." He turned back to Chase. "How's Dundee?"

"He woke up right after the others left to go get you." He turned to Marshall who had just come up to them. "We've been talking for a couple of minutes now, and he doesn't seem to be in any major pain."

The teen turned to the others and gave them orders, "Rocky, see if you can thread the forks of your forklift into a couple of the stronger limbs to pick it up." The mix breed barked and drove the green truck closer to the branch. After a few minutes of directing the forks, the teen put his hand up. "Stop, that's good Rocky." He then motioned to the bulldog. "Rubble, I want you to come close and be ready to catch it with you bucked in case the branch falls off of the forks."

"Rubble on the double," the pup said moving the bucket of his rig in place.

Once the bulldog was ready, Ryder spoke again. "Ready?" When a chorus of barks answered yes, the teen spoke again. "Alright. . . Rocky lift slowly." The mix breed nodded and slowly raised the forks. "Marshall," The Dalmatian barked. "Watch the branch carefully; let me know when it gets high enough to where it clears Dundee."

"Got it Ryder," Marshall said as he started to watch closer. Just as the branch hovered above Dundee's ginger fur, he called out. "Alright, you're good."

Ryder nodded and glanced at Rocky. "Stop," he said, "now back away slowly." The silver-blue pup did as he was told, and maneuvered his truck away from the others. Satisfied, Ryder said "okay Marshall, its safe."

As he got closer, Marshall noted all of the cuts and scrapes the branch left behind. Then barked for his x-ray machine and scanned it down the injured pup's body.

Tilting his head to look at the Dalmatian, Dundee spoke. "If I had to guess, I at least have a cracked a rib or two." He gave a small smile when Marshall looked at him wide eyed.

"How did you guess?" the surprise was clear in his voice, and he smiled. "You have two cracked ribs and one is broken. It will need to be reset," Marshall's smile disappeared and his eyes held a hint of regret. "That's not something I can do, so we need to get you to Katie's"

Dundee nodded, "alright mate, let's go,"

Wasting no time, Marshall ran back to his ambulance and opened the back. "Chase," he tilted his head and addressed the shepherd, "can you help me load him?" He pulled the stretcher out as brown and tan pup answered. "Sure."

Minutes later, Dundee was loaded in the red truck. As Marshall hopped into the driver's seat, Chase got into the back with the injured pup. "I hope you don't mind me riding back here."

"Why would I mind?" Dundee was curious.

"Well," the shepherd cast his amber eyes down at the floor. "If I hadn't jumped on you, you wouldn't have had to throw me off and gotten hurt by that branch." The guilt was evident in his voice.

The strange pup smiled, making his emerald eyes shine. "If you hadn't tried to protect your friends, I never would've met you guys." To his own surprise, he blushed. "I wouldn't have approached you either. I've always been kind of shy."

Chase was surprised for second. But before he could respond, the truck stopped. "We're here."

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 **Please keep reviewing!**

 **P.S. Could someone let me know if I spelled bonza right? And if it's even the right Aussie word to use? Thanks**


	3. The Strange Pup

**Thanks for the review everyone! BTW I think i figured out what Bonza means after doing some research. . . Too bad I wont be using it in this chapter (Smiles mischievously. . .)**

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 **Chapter 2**

A couple hours later, Katie stepped out of the operating room of her vet clinic/pet wash, and looked up to see the whole PAW Patrol (With the exception of Everest) looking back at her. She smiled. She knew the Ryder and the pups always cared about the injured people and animals they rescued. This pup was different though. When they brought Dundee in, she noticed they all worked with a little more urgency than normal. Perhaps they sensed what she already knew.

This pup was alone, and definitely not from around here.

'But first things first', she thought laying Dundee's folder on her desk. "He pulled through just fine. His ribs will hurt for a while, so he needs to take it easy. " She told them. "Do you know if he lives with anyone here?" She never liked the word 'owner'. "He has a very nice collar, what's weird is that he has no tag."

Ryder nodded, "It would seem he belongs with someone." He shook his head. "But, I haven't seen him around here before." The leader addressed his team. "What about you, pups? Have you seen him around, like on the beach or in the woods?"

The six pups glanced around at each other, and started shaking their heads. "Sorry dude," Zuma spoke first. "I haven't seen him at the beach. . . But, I've also been kind of distracted." He glanced at Rocky and they both blushed.

"Me either," was the only thing mix breed said; clearly not wanting to go into detail.

"Chase and I haven't seen him in the forest at all, until today." Marshall told Ryder. As soon as he said it, the Dalmatian purposely avoided the angry stare he knew was getting from the shepherd. He decided not to mention that they too had not been paying full attention to their surroundings.

The blond teen shook her head. "That's not the strangest part, though." She picked up the new pups folder again and said. "I ran a blood test, like I do with all my new patients, before the operation. The results came back just as I finished." She looked back at Ryder. "The tests show that Dundee is about one sixteenth golden Labrador . . . The other fifteen percent is pure Dingo Dog."

"What is that?" Rubble asked.

Ryder turned to the pups and answered. "A Dingo Dog is a wild dog native to Australia, which explains the accent." He looked thoughtful for a second. "I've never heard of a Dingo-Labrador mix though."

"So he's a Dingodor!" Marshall said and everyone laughed.

"Or a Labradingo," Rubble added.

Once Ryder stopped laughing, he cast his chocolate brown eyes back on Katie. "Do you have any idea how an Australian Dingo ended up here?"

She reached back and pulled her blond hair out of its pony tail. "I have no clue, but I have a friend who would know." Now, Katie ran her fingers through her blond locks. "I'll give her a call tonight, and maybe tomorrow I'll have some answers."

Ryder nodded, and then looked out the window. The setting sun resembled a wedge of an orange that someone placed right on top of the sea where it met the sky. Soon, the wedge of sun would get smaller and smaller until it appeared to vanish into the ocean, leaving the moon and the stars to shine bright in the sky. His mouth turned into a regretful smile. "Pups, we need to get back to the Lookout before it gets too much darker."

"But. . . What about Dundee?" Chase asked worried.

Katie grinned. "Between the stuff I gave him before surgery to knock him out, and the painkillers that are going to make him sleepy. He should be out for most of the night." She yawned then added. "But just in case he does wake up, I'm going to stay here all night so he won't be alone." When Ryder gave her a questioning look she said, "I always stay the night if a patient has had surgery that day so I can look after them. It also helps that he'll see a familiar face if he does." Her beautiful smile faded. "For all we know, Dundee is a stranger in town with no friends or family."

"Of course he does." Rubble smiled as everyone turned to look at him. "He has all of us for friends!"

The contagious smile traveled around the room as all the pups smiled and nodded in agreement. They all said their goodbyes to Katie, and started out the door.

Ryder moved toward her and smiled. "Thanks Katie, we'll see you in the morning. Can we get you anything before we go?"

She glanced around her shop, then back at Ryder. "I think I've got everything I need." Then, she gave him a sly grin and said, "And I have my Pup Pad right here if I need to yelp for help."

He chuckled. "Alright," He brushed a strand of gold off her forehead and tucked it behind her ear. "See you tomorrow. . ."

See you tomorrow. . ." She said, letting out a breath she didn't know she was holding.

* * *

As Dundee opened his green eyes, he was met with the glowing morning sun. He blinked, 'what's going on now?'

"Good morning" A female voice said, entering the room. "How are you feeling?"

He blinked a few more times, trying to wake up. "Good morning. . . Katie, right" he asked. When she nodded he smiled briefly, and then winced. He said, "My chest hurts every time I breathe, and I can't seem to wake up." He yawned to unintentionally prove his point.

The teen laughed. "Well, you broke one of your ribs, and cracked two more." She checked a few of the medical machines. "Not being able to breathe without hurting is normal," She sighed. "And the reason you're tired is because of the painkillers. And, I can't give you anything stronger without putting you in a coma."

Dundee smiled, "that's alright Katie. I've dealt with worse." He flinched because knowing he didn't mean to say that last part out loud.

Since she now had an opening, the blonde gently sat down on the bed, and took a chance. "What do you mean?" She knew it was a lame question, but it was the only one she could come up with on the fly. "I know you're not from around here."

The dingo gave a small chuckle. Emphasizing his accent, he said. "What gave me away?"

Katie laughed. "The accent was a clue." She laughed a couple of seconds more, and then said. "But the fact that you're a Dingo, gave it away. We don't get a lot of those here in Adventure Bay." Her smile faded when she noticed that while Dundee was smiling, his heart was racing.

It was like he was nervous or afraid of something, so she changed the subject. "Are you hungry?" Right on cue, the pup's stomach growled. "I guess that's a yes?" She giggled.

"I guess so." He smiled.

She stood up, "I'll be right back." Before she left however, she glanced at Dundee's heart machine and was relieved to find the pups heartbeat had gone back to normal. 'Katie, what were you thinking?' She chided herself as she walked down the hallway and into the storeroom. 'Of course he started to get nervous; you've only known the pup for twelve hours. You're still a stranger to him.'

Reaching up to grab a food bowl she thought, 'I'll apologize when I bring him breakfast.' Then, she opened her Pup Pad, and called Ryder.

"Ryder here," the teen gave his standard greeting.

She smiled. But then, she always smiled when she saw Ryder. "Good morning Ryder," she began, "Dundee woke up a few minutes ago." The blonde went on to explain what she told Dundee as she made his breakfast. Then, she looked back at the screen and said. "I tried to get him to talk about how he got here, but I could tell he was really afraid to."

Ryder could tell she was a little bit frustrated. "Katie, we've only known him for about twenty four hours." He said gently. "It's natural that he wouldn't open up yet." The teen thought for a few moments, and then said. "Maybe he'd be more comfortable around other pups. . . Is he up to having visitors?" He knew his pups would ask.

"He really needs rest Ryder, but I'll ask him if he wants company after he eats breakfast." Remembering something else, she added. "I talked to my friend last night; she said that they are breeding Dingo's with other common breeds of dogs like Labradors. But there only in Australia, they keep very strict records, and not on Dingodor has escaped."

She picked up the pad and instantly blushed. Ryder didn't have his white long sleeve shirt on yet. In fact, he didn't have a shirt on at all. Not many people would know this, since he covers it up all the time. But, underneath the white shirt and red and blue vest, the brown eyed teen had a very well built, slightly muscular body. She also noticed his chocolate colored hair wasn't in his usual spikes yet, and came down and just started to touch the top of his shoulders. 'He must have just gotten out of the shower'. Just the thought made her blush harder. 'What was that about?'

"So how did Dundee get here? . . . Katie, are you okay?" Ryder asked.

"Yes. . ." She stammered. 'Oh crud, was I staring at him?' She gave her head a little shake, which brought her back to the present, and finished the sentence. "I'll ask Dundee if he wants visitors."

"Wait, Marshall was right. Dundee is a Dingodor!" He stopped as he heard a noise that sounded a lot like Chase and his megaphone. He laughed, "Sounds like everyone's awake." As he looked back into her blue eyes and he blushed a little. "Guess that means I need to get breakfast going . . . Talk to you later, Katie. . . Ryder, out."

She was still blushing. 'If he was trying to get my attention, he has it now."

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 **Do I need to explain my pairings?. . . Keep reviewing!**


	4. The Interesting Pup

**Here we go. . . (Bonus points if you can guess the song. . . It's one of my guilty pleasure favorites.)**

* * *

 **Chapter 3**

"Thanks for the breakfast Katie." Dundee was wagging his tail, "it really hit the spot. . . And I'd like for Ryder and the pups to come." He smiled. "I've only been awake for an hour and I'm bored stiff." When she glanced at the wrappings around his body, he smile widened and his forest green eyes shined, "Well . . . Stiffer."

Katie smiled in the doorway, "Do you need anything else?"

The dingo's smile faded as he thought for a moment. Then instantly, he smiled again and said. "Yes. . . Can you bring me a radio?"

"Sure, I have one in the storeroom." She said. "I'll be right back." Minutes later, she came back with a small black and silver box. "Here," Katie placed the box on the bed. She pointed to a switch, "this is the power", and then placed two fingers on one knob, "this one controls the volume," then the other, "this one changes the channel."

He nodded, "Thanks Katie." As she left the room, he turned the radio. Dundee turned the knob a few times, changing the channel from country, to classic rock, and a few other things. Finally, he heard something familiar, and smiled.

The opening dance beats of a song he knew all the words to. As he started bobbing his head to the beat, he couldn't help but sing along. . .

 _No matter how hard I try,_

 _You keep pushing me aside._

 _And I can't break through._

 _There's no talking to you. . ._

 _So sad that you're leaving,_

 _Takes time to believe it._

 _But after all is set and done. . ._

 _You're gonna be the lonely one, Oh. . ._

Dundee didn't realize it, but Katie heard him sing. She then couldn't help but watch and listen to the dingo's incredible voice.

 _Do you believe in life after love?_

 _I can feel something inside me says,_

 _I really don't think you're strong enough, No!_

 _Do you believe in life after love?_

 _I can feel something inside me says,_

 _I really don't think you're strong enough, No!_

 _What am I supposed to do?_

 _Sit around and wait for you?_

 _Well I can't do that._

 _There's no turning back._

 _I need time to move on. . ._

 _I need love to feel strong._

 _But I've had time to think through,_

 _And, maybe I'm too good for you. Oh!_

 _Do you believe in life after love?_

 _I can feel something inside me says,_

 _I really don't think you're strong enough, No!_

 _Do you believe in life after love?_

 _I can feel something inside me says,_

 _I really don't think you're strong enough, No!_

Katie got chills all over her body as Dundee sang the next part of the song. . .

 _Well I know that I'll get through this. . ._

 _Cause I know that I am strong. . ._

 _I don't need you anymore. . ._

 _I don't need you anymore. . ._

 _I don't need you anymore. . ._

 _Do you believe in life after love?_

 _I can feel something inside me says,_

 _I really don't think you're strong enough, No!_

 _Do you believe in life after love?_

 _I can feel something inside me says,_

 _I really don't think you're strong enough, No!_

As the song finished, he turned the radio down. He jumped when he heard clapping from the doorway, he glanced over to see Katie. "How long have you been standing there?" He instantly shook his head, "How long have you been listening there?" His eyes softened to show he wasn't too upset.

"Sorry," she said regretfully. "I just. . . That's one of my guilty pleasure songs. I turn it up about that loud when it comes on. . . And, when I heard you singing it, I had to stop and listen." The blonde smiled, and admiration shown in her blue eyes. "You sing beautifully." When he blushed, she added, "really."

His green eyes fixed on the bed. "Thanks. . . Can you not tell anyone please?" The green eyes where now looking into her blue ones, pleading. "I like to sing when I'm alone, but I don't think I could do it in front of anyone."

Katie smiled softly, "I understand. Marshall has a wonderful voice too, and he also has bad stage fright. But, eventually, we were able to help him overcome it long enough to sing in the Paw Patrol Band last year in the talent show." She walked over and sat down on the bed. "A voice like yours should be enjoyed by everyone, Dundee." She reached over and ran her hand through the ginger fur on the pups head. Marshall and Ryder could help you through that fear." Stopping, Katie brought Dundee's head to look into his eyes. She noticed that he still held reservation in his eyes. "But if you don't want me to tell anyone, I won't."

He gave her a small smile. "Just, let me think about it . . . Alright?"

"Alright," She grinned with a hint satisfaction, and decided to change conversation for the moment. "I came to tell you that Ryder and the pups finished their rescue. They'll be here in a little bit."

He eyes automatically shown brighter. "Bonza, thanks Katie."

Katie gave him a questioning look. "Bonza?"

"Sorry," a sheepish smile crossed his face. "I let the Aussie out. . . Bonza is an Australian, what do you call it, a slang word?" She nodded, and he continued. "It's what we say when we mean great or wonderful."

"What's great or wonderful?" Ryder said entering the room with Chase and Marshall.

"Bonza," Katie and Dundee said in unison.

"What?" Now the other three spoke at the same time.

The girl and dingo laughed. "Bonza . . ." Katie explained. "It's a word they use in Australia to say wonderful or great."

"Oh. . ." Now Ryder and the others understood.

"Bonza," Marshall said laughing.

"Bless you Marshall," Skye giggled as she joined them with Rubble at her side. When the other burst out laughing, confusion shown in her shining pink tinged amber eyes. "What?"

"Marshall didn't sneeze, Skye." Katie said once she stopped laughing. "He said bonza." She explained the word, and then turned to the ginger pup, "Dundee taught it to us."

At that moment, Rocky and Zuma came through the doors. "What did he teach you?" The mix-breed asked.

The others glanced at each other with sly grins, and then at the same time they said, "Bonza!"

Zuma and Rocky exchanged questioning glances, and then the chocolate lab said "What?" Once Dundee explained the word again, the two pups laughed. "Okay, I think we've got it." Rocky's brown eyes held slight concern. "I guess that means you're doing better?"

A mischievous grin spread across Dundee's face, it was too easy. "Bonza, mate."

"You walked into that one, Rocky." Zuma laughed.

Dundee spoke again as the laughter died down. "I'm doing alright, Rocky. I feel a lot better than I did when I got up this morning. Now it doesn't hurt as much to breathe." Before he could say more, however, Ryders Paw Pad went off.

"Ryder here", the teen spoke out of habit. A twelve year old boy with blond spiky hair and bright blue eyes appeared on the other side of the screen. "Hi Alex, what do you need?"

"Ryder, I need help." However, Ryder noticed the boy seemed kind of calm to be needing help. "My class and I are supposed to be going camping this weekend. My teacher, Miss Fox, told we need at least five adults or older kids to come with us. And, grandpa was supposed to be going to with us." Ryder thought he could figure out the problem, but he let the boy finish anyway. "But, grandpa has a cold and can't go, and without him we only have four adults."

The teen's guess was unfortunately right. "Alright Alex, let me bring the pups in on this and maybe between all of us and Katie, we can come up with an idea." The boy nodded as Ryder set the Paw Pad on the bed to face the room. Then he explained the problem to the pups and Katie, "Any ideas?"

"Who are the other four adults going?" Chase was the first to speak.

Alex thought for a moment, and then answered. "Two of the other kid's parent's; Miss Fox, and because her niece and nephew are going, Mayor Goodway decided to go too."

"Well, there goes my idea." Rocky said disappointed.

"What about Farmer Yumi, or Farmer Al?" Skye suggested. "They've done it before."

Ryder instantly shook his head. "Farmer Al is out of town, remember? And, Farmer Yumi won't want to leave their animals."

Rubble was the next to throw in an idea. "Captain Turbot?"

This time, Zuma shook his head. "Sorry dude, He and François are taking a trip up the coast before François has to go back to Paris. In fact, Captain Turbot left me in charge of the lighthouse on Seal Island."

Silence fell on the group for a few seconds, until suddenly Dundee spoke up. "Ryder, you obviously can't go because you have to stay with the Paw Patrol right?"

The teen nodded. "I could go, because Chase would do a great job leading the team. But I don't want to leave them alone at the Lookout too long. It's not that I don't trust them, it's just that I would worry about them so much I wouldn't be able to sleep."

"That leaves one. . ." Dundee smiled. "Katie, why don't you go?"

The blonde shook her head. "I'm taking care of you, remember?"

Instantly, Ryder caught the ginger pup's drift, and spoke up. "He could stay with us." He glanced at the Dalmatian, "Marshall has all the medical knowledge we need," and then back to Katie, "and he can walk me through anything I might need to do. And, I think the pups would love it." He looked around the room and saw seven wagging tails making his point.

Seeing all the smiling faces, Katie had to admit it sounded like a good idea. . .

She smiled, "Okay."

* * *

 **Ta da, Bonza explained!**

 **I hope you liked this one. . . Please review. . . Pretty please?. . . With sugar on top?**

 **By the way, for those living under rocks, the song is 'Believe' by Cher**


	5. The Lovely Pup

**Here we go. . .**

* * *

 **Chapter 4**

As Ryder stepped out of the elevator, four sets of eyes looked at him. "That was Katie, she an Alex are having a great time on the camping trip." The teen's eyes focused on Dundee, who was laying on the bed Rocky found for him. "She asked how you were doing, and I told her you were healing very well."

"Yea, I feel great." He looked around at each of the pups, and continued. "Thanks for letting me stay here, all of you." The pups had set up a makeshift bedroom the ground level of the lookout; Marshall moved his firetruck/pup house right next to the front doors so he could keep an eye on the dingo; and Ryder made sure one or two pups were with Dundee most of the time.

Before anyone could respond, Ryder's pup pad rang again. This time, it was Farmer Yumi. The distraught farmer told the brown eyed teen that her goat, Garby, escaped. "Don't worry Yumi, we'll find Garby." Hitting a button, Ryder spoke again, "Paw Patrol, to the Lookout!" A few seconds later all the pups, with the exception of Zuma who was at the Seal Island Lighthouse, filed one by one into the elevator.

Dundee watched the door close and the elevator rise, and then let his eyes slowly close. The dingo let his mind wander, and soon he was thinking about the pups, Ryder, and Katie.

The ginger colored pup was surprised at how much the Paw Patrol seemed to genuinely care about him. And, if he was honest with himself, it also made him a little uncomfortable. No one had ever shown him compassion without asking anything in return. It was true that when he was world famous he had a circle of friends. However, those friends only came after he became world famous. Dundee always knew in the back of his mind that, when his fame faded away, those friends would fade away as well.

The elevator doors opened again and startled him so much, he almost fell out of his bed. Dundee glanced up to see Marshall, Rubble, and Rocky walking towards him. "Dundee," the Dalmatian started to move faster, "are you okay?"

As Dundee picked himself up, he answered. "Yea, I'm fine mate."

The Dalmatian started to blush a little, "Mate?" The others gave the dingo a curious look as well.

"It Australian for friend. . . I consider all of you, friends. And yes, know that mate means something completely different here" The dingo quickly said. Once he was sitting up again, he gave a sly grin. "Besides Marshall, I already know you and Chase are together."

Now Marshall was tomato red. "What gave us away?"

"It was easy," Dundee continued smiling. "You look at each other with completely unconditional love in your eyes." He swallowed hard as tears suddenly threatened to spill out of his forest green eyes. "That's the best kind of love to have. . . Just ask Rocky." The mix breed blushed, Dundee continued. "He and Zuma have that kind of love, too." He paused, and then added. "So do Skye and Rubble," and now it was the bulldogs turn the blush. "And, between you and me, Ryder and Katie have a thing for each other, too."

The three pups stood there for a second, stunned by what the dingo had just said. Dundee had come to the lookout only a week ago, and yet he had already read all of them like a series of books. Finally, Rocky said what was on all of their minds. "How did you do that?"

Dundee's mind raced for a few moments. 'How exactly am I going to explain this without sounding like a total nutcase?' Eventually he came up with a good way to skirt the truth. "I've traveled around a lot, and I've seen so many different kinds of love." That was completely true. "Love is an interesting emotion because you do things for the one you love that you never ever would have done for yourself." That was true, too. "I guess I fell in love with love, and felt a strong urge to study it, I'm not sure why." And that was only partially the truth. Dundee knew he studied love because it helped him get his soul into the songs he sings.

"I've never been in love myself." He cast his eyes at the floor, and there was more than a hint of regret in the dingo's voice as he continued. "But I have seen people, and now pups, in love first hand." He smiled at the three pups in front of him. "I've seen it in how two lovers look at each other, how they touch each other, and of course how they talk to each other." Dundee grinned wider, "The all of you are easy to read. . . Ryder was a little more difficult though. He keeps his soft side close and doesn't let anyone see it very often. But, you can barely see his eyes soften when he sees Katie. And, you can hear his voice become a little more tender when they talk to each other." Dundee continued to smile. "When you look close, it's easy to see how much he cares for her."

Dundee looked back up to see the pups still staring at him, and blushed. Staring at the floor he said. "Sorry. . . Sometimes I get the feeling I talk too much." The ginger pup looked down so fast; he didn't realize that the three pups where smiling as well as staring.

"No, I mean" Marshall stuttered a little. "I've never heard someone talk about love so truthfully before."

Rocky nodded. "It was awesome."

Dundee's blush deepened. "Thanks." Then, he quickly changed the subject. "Does Garby get out a lot?"

This time Rubble nodded, "probably once a week or so." The Bulldog laughed. "Not quite as often as Chickaletta does though."

The other laughed as well. "You're right, it seems like every time we turn around," the mix breed said, "the mayor loses that chicken."

Dundee's eyebrows shot up. "The mayor of your town has a chicken?"

Seeing the dingo's disbelief, Marshall smiled and added. "She has a purse chicken."

"Purse. . . Chicken. . ." The ginger pups spoke the words slowly. When the three pups nodded, he shook his head and smiled. "Sometimes, I don't understand Americans."

* * *

Later that day, having found Garby, four of the pups where back at the lookout playing their favorite game Pup Pup Boogie; Rocky had gone with Zuma to spend the night at the lighthouse; And Dundee, who had no interest in playing, had fallen asleep on one of the bean bag chairs.

"How are we not waking him up?" Skye wondered out loud.

Chase paused the game, and turned to the Dalmatian. "Are you sure he's asleep?"

Marshall in turn, nodded. "Positive. . . He's snoring a little."

Rubble shrugged his shoulders, "I don't know. But, it's pretty amazing how he can sleep through all of us." Now he looked at Marshall. "Can you explain that?" The Dalmatian shook his head.

"You know," The shepherd said. "Some people, or in this case pups, can sleep through anything."

Marshall nodded, "and even though he's healing very well, he still needs rest." He glanced at the sleeping ginger pup "When Katie gets back; she'll give him a checkup."

"I guess when finishes healing, Katie will have to take him to the shelter a few towns over, huh?" Rubble asked with disappointment evident in his voice.

The others solemnly nodded. "It's the right thing to do." Chase said. "Who knows, maybe he'll find a good home with someone here in Adventure Bay."

When Rubble didn't look convinced Skye said. "I know how you feel, I like him too." She nuzzled her mate. "We all know what it's like to be alone, so we all tried to give him friendship and bonded with him." As the bulldog nuzzled her back, Skye added. "Maybe we got a little too close."

The shepherd and the Dalmatian nodded. "We definitely got too close." Chase said.

Silence filled the room for a few seconds. With each pup so deeply lost in their own thoughts; the four of them jumped, waking Dundee in the process, when the doors to the lookout unexpectedly slid open.

"Sorry about that, pups." Ryder said walking quickly towards the elevator. "Come on, we have an emergency!"

Not needing to be told twice, the four pups joined their leader. But before doors could close, Dundee scurried through the door after them. He looked up at Ryder. "I thought I might be able to help since your two pups down."

The teen nodded, sending his brown hair bobbing up and down. "Sure, we could use the help."

As they each came out of the elevator, they took their positions. Not having a spot of his own, Dundee decided to stand next to Skye. He stopped as Chase said, "ready for action Ryder Sir!"

"Pups, we've got a real problem. . . Katie and Alex went to get firewood for their campfire, when Alex wandered away and is now lost in the woods." The pups gasped, and then were slightly surprised when Dundee was the first to speak.

"Poor guy, he's probably scared to death." The empathy in his green eyes quickly turned into resolve. "Ryder, I have a lot of experience surviving in the wild, and a little first aid training. I'll do everything I can to help."

"Great," the teen said. "We could use all the help we can get." He turned around and pulled out a pup tag with the Paw Patrol symbol on it from a cabinet behind him. "This is a pup tag communicator just like the others have." Ryder put the tag on the dingo's collar, and then stepped back. "This way, you can talk to us if we get separated."

"Bonza! Thanks Ryder." Dundee smiled.

The teens lips twitched, but he didn't smile. Instead, he addressed the other pups. "Skye, I need you and you're helicopter to keep an eye on everyone from above. Chase, I need you to use your spy drone to help us hopefully get a lock on Alex." Before the pups could respond, their leader spoke again. "Marshall, Rubble, and Dundee; Everest is going to meet us out at the campsite. Once we get there, I want the four of you to split up into teams of two, and search for Alex as well."

The dingo was about to ask who Everest was when Ryder spoke again. "Alright, let's go!"

* * *

 **I've said it once, i'll say it again. Please Review!**


	6. The Resourceful Pup

**First to answer to questions from _PBJ Nachos. . ._**

 **Dundee is not related to Sundee, I don't even know who that is. . .**

 ** _PBJ Nachos a_ lso asked if it was going to be a _Dundee x Everest._. . I've already made up my mind, but you'll just have to wait and see. . . **

**(Laughs Evilly. . . ) Enjoy!**

* * *

 **** **Chapter 5**

"Ryder," Dundee addressed the leader after they arrived at the campsite. Everest hadn't arrived yet, and the ginger pup was getting antsy. "No offence, but the sun is going down quickly and it's going to be harder to find Alex in the dark. . . So is it okay if Rubble and I go ahead and start the search?"

The teen thought about what Dundee said for a moment. 'He's right, the sun goes down really fast here. I also don't want Alex to be alone tonight if I can help it.' He fixed his brown eyes on the pups green ones, and nodded. "Go ahead. . . The sooner we find Alex, the better. Just make sure to keep in touch."

"Great, thanks." Dundee smiled, and started walking into the forest where the boy was last seen. "Ready, Rubble?"

"Rubble on the double," he answered with enthusiasm as he followed.

"What?" The dingo turned to look into the bulldogs bright amber eyes.

It took Rubble a moment to catch up with the ginger pup. Once he did, he answered. "That's one of my catchphrases." Still sensing confusion from the other pup, he added "we all have them. . . 'Chase is on the case', that's one of Chase's obviously. Zuma favorite is 'let's dive in'. My favorite is Skye's 'this pups gotta fly'."

Although Dundee thought was odd, he also wasn't one to judge. "Alright then," the ginger pup nodded as he and the bulldog continued walking. Then realizing something, he stopped for a second and gave the bulldog a sly smile. "Of course Sky's catchphrase is your favorite." He didn't say anything, but Rubble's cheeks turned bright pink as they continued walking.

They walked for a few minutes in silence, which was unusual for the bulldog. And, Dundee couldn't help but notice. "Rubble, did I do something wrong?"

"No." The amber eyed pup answered quickly.

"Then I said something wrong?" Dundee asked.

The answer was just a little slower this time,"No."

Finally, something occurred to the dingo. "This is because I teased you about you and Skye, isn't it?" He could tell by the bulldogs reaction, he'd just hit the nail on the head. "I'm sorry. Sometimes I don't know when to stop kidding around. I guess it comes from being alone so much. When it comes to reading people, sometimes I'm really good at it and other times I'm really, really, not."

They kept walking in silence for a few more minutes until Rubble finally spoke again. "It kinda took me by surprise when she told me she loved me." The bulldog smiled at the memory. "I always had a crush on her, but I knew she had her eye on Chase."

"But then, the two of you found out Chase had a thing for Marshall." Dundee guessed, though it was more of a statement than a question.

Rubble nodded. "Then, she took an interest in me. I couldn't figure out why until she told me one night. It was because she knew how I felt about her."

Dundee smiled, he was catching on. "You were easy for her to fall in love with. . ." He hesitated a little, the spoke again. "After she found out she was never going to get what she wanted from Chase, she looked at you and realized you were everything she ever wanted."

The bulldog nodded. "Chase has Marshall, and Rocky had Zuma, so for a while I felt that Sky was settling for me because I was the only one left."

The dingo stopped in front of Rubble and smiled. "I've only know Skye for a little over a week, but I can tell she's in love with you for you,not because you're the last pup she could love. You're not the last pup on earth, mate." This drew a small smile from the bulldog. "You know, you look much better with a smile on your face."

Rubble smiled wider, making his copper eyes shine in the fading sunlight. "Thanks, I needed that. . . We'll, let's go!" The bulldog walked around Dundee, and stared into a trot. "Come on, we need to find Alex before it gets dark."

The ginger pup smiled and followed. And, if he wasn't mistaken, there was a new air of confidence around the bulldog. 

* * *

Later, once they came to the clearing where Katie last saw Alex, the two pups looked around. Rubble put his nose to the ground searching for the scent of the lost boy. Dundee however, glanced at the sky. "We need to find him fast." The ginger pup's voice held a tone of urgency, "I can smell rain coming soon." He sniffed the air again, "within the next three or four hours. . ."

The dingo then looked to the trees at the edge of the clearing. After a few moments, something in one of the trees caught his eye. "Rubble, does Alex have a favorite color?" He asked as he walked to the edge.

The bulldog's eyes registered complete confusion, but he answered anyway. "Orange, he wears it all the time. . . Why?"

Instead of answering the question, he looked down at his tag. "Ryder, are you there?"

"I'm here Dundee, what do you need?" The teen spoke.

"Can you ask Katie what Alex was wearing?"

"Sure." After a few moments of silence, Ryder's voice came back. "His favorite orange shirt and khaki shorts. . . Why, did you find something?"

"I'll let you know. . . Dundee out," he said. "Rubble, can you come over here?"

"What did you find?" The bulldog asked as he came over.

Again, the dingo didn't answer the question. "Can you hand me that stick?" Rubble nodded and did as he was told. Using both of his front paws, Dundee pointed at something in the tree now in front of them. That's when the bulldog noticed the small piece of torn orange fabric caught in the grasp of one of the sharper twigs.

"Orange fabric from Alex's shirt," Rubble said stating the obvious.

Dundee nodded, "look closer." Again the bulldog cast his eyes on the fabric and now noticed something on the torn edge of the fabric.

There was a red stain on the edges.

"Is that. . ." Rubble couldn't finish, so the dingo did for him.

"Blood," Dundee studied the cloth more. "Judging by the amount, he didn't bleed a lot, just enough to leave. . ." Now he glanced at the ground, and pointed with the stick again. ". . . Small drops of blood. Now all we have to do is follow them."

"Okay," the bulldog answered eagerly, "let's go!" 

* * *

As they followed the blood drops, they became fainter and fainter and the distance between them grew. After a few minutes, the small drops disappeared completely. "Now what," Rubble asked, clearly frustrated.

Casing his emerald green eyes at the bulldog, Dundee asked. "Just how experienced is in the woods is Alex?"

"This was his first camp out, and I don't know how much Miss Fox taught them about first aid." Rubble answered.

The dingo smiled, "what's the first thing you want to do when you've been bleeding."

"Wash the dried blood off." Rubble said, starting to catch on.

"And since there's not a faucet around here," Dundee started.

"He would have to find a river or a stream," the bulldog finished.

The other pup nodded, "exactly."

"I can't hear one tough." Rubble said disappointed.

Dundee shook his head, "me either." He glanced down at his paws. 'I would kill to have my hands back right now,' he sighed, 'I could cup them around my ears.' As he lamented about his non-existent hands, his eyes once again caught something.

A fairly large leaf lay a few feet away from him.

"I have an idea. . ." The dingo said snatching up the leaf. He then curled the leaf to make cone with two open ends. When he was finished, he looked back up to the thoroughly confused bulldog and smiled wide. "It's an ear funnel." He put the small end to his ear, and closed his eyes to focus. After listening intensely for a few seconds, he heard the faint trickling of water down river rocks. He rotated his head and walked around until the noise became its loudest. "This way", the dingo pointed with his free paw and walked that direction.

Once again, the bulldog was excited to have another lead. "Lead the way!"

* * *

 **Please Review. . . The faster you review the faster the next chapter might come. . .**


	7. The Brave Pup

**I apologize for the looong delay between chapters, but I was working on my other story _"Pup Pup Sonfics."_ **

**I also apologize to those of you who were reading and liked it. Unfortunately, due to legal reasons (story's are not to contain copied, copyrighted song lyrics of any kind) I was not aware of when I posted it, I had to take down the story and pretty much can the idea. In articles I read about songfics, the reason they are forbidden is because it's like downloading a pirated copy of the song. That makes no sense to me, because i'm only using one half of the song. In my opinion, sometimes it doesn't matted how good the lyrics are if I don't like the music, And vice versa. Besides, if anything I'm promoting the songs I use through my stories. I mean, had anyone heard the song _"What If I Said"_ by Anita Cochran and Steve Wariner before i used it in my story. . . Has anyone gone to Youtube to look it up since?**

 **Either way, it sucks because it got very good reception from the community!**

 **Between you and me, I think using the word Songfic in the title was a red flag. So, i'm thinking of just coming up a different title and just continuing the series anyway. . . Or I could just let everyone know when I have a new Songfic through on of my other stories, and just PM them the story. . . Let me know what you think!**

 **Enough ranting. . . On with the Story!**

* * *

 **Chapter 6**

In the moonlight, the two pups could see the winding ribbon of silver the river created in the darkness beyond them. "Wow," Rubble stared in awe, "it's beautiful."

Dundee nodded, and then looked around. "Now then, the ground close to the river should be damp enough to follow footprints." The dingo once again looked at the sky. "Rubble, we need to find them fast before the storm comes and washes them away." He looked back at the form of the bulldog, and asked. "Now, would Alex have been wearing tennis shoes of hiking boots?"

The bulldog's glowing eyes moved back and forth in the darkness as he shook his head. "As far as I know, Alex didn't have a pair of hiking boots." He smiled, "and if he got new ones, he would have been showing them off to everyone in town."

The dingo smiled back, "tennis shoes it is." His emerald eyes grew concerned, "That means the prints won't be as deep." As he cast his eyes across to the other side of the river, he noticed a series of boulders partially submerged under the water. Dundee smiled because he knew he could hop from rock to rock to get to the other side. Glancing back at Rubble, he said. "We need to search both sides of the river, so I'll hop those rocks to the other side and search for prints over there."

"Are you sure you can do it?" Rubble said concerned.

Dundee's smile grew, "positive mate. Marshall said I'm almost fully healed, and I've hopped stones much wider than that before." He started walking to the first stone, and climbed on top. Once there, he tried to judge the distance of his first jump.

"Alright. . ." The bulldog said, not fully convinced "Just be careful. . . Please?"

The dingo looked down at Rubble with confidence in his green eyes. "I'll be graceful as a gazelle, mate" He smiled as Rubble rolled his amber eyes.

Dundee set his eyes back on the second stone in the middle of the rushing water. The distance between this boulder and the one he was attempting to jump was the longest. He crouched down to get the spring out of his new hind legs, and jumped with all his strength. And as he gracefully flew through the air, the dingo knew he had judged the jump to perfection.

Unfortunately, the landing was not so graceful.

Just before he landed, Dundee realized that the rock he was about to land on was very, very slippery. 'Oh well, too late now.' A split second later when he landed, the dingo instantly had no grip on the stone whatsoever. As a result, all four legs splayed out in all four directions, which caused him to land directly on his chest.

Dundee yelped as he heard his ribs crack, and pain exploded through his body.

From the shoreline Rubble became more concerned. "Are you okay?" He shouted.

The dingo pushed himself to where he was standing on top of the stone, rather than laying on it. Glancing down, he became very grateful that the darkness now disguised the scrapes and cuts (and what were sure to be bruises) that covered his ginger fur. If it were still daylight, Rubble would definitely notice.

Ignoring the pain, he set his sights on the next stone in the middle of the river. While the distance was now the shortest, this rock was the smallest. 'I don't think it's a good idea to jump to that one and stop,' He thought. "Guess I'll just hopscotch across." He then said out loud. . . Too loud, as it turned out.

"What?" The bulldog said from the shoreline.

Dundee cringed. 'I really hope he's just asking what I said, and not asking what the heck I think I'm doing.' In spite of everything, he chuckled. 'It's not like he could stop me though.' To Rubble he said, "Just thinking out loud."

Once again, the dingo judged the leap. Then he took a deep breath, and hopped gracefully across the next three stones to the other side. He turned around, and smirked. "See, graceful as a gazelle." When Rubble just glared at him, he decided to focus on the job at hand. "Alright, like I said. You search that side and I'll cover this side. . . Just make sure we don't lose sight of each other."

At that moment, the dingo felt the first few large drops of rain. And, the wind started to pick up.

Now, keeping track of each other would be easier said than done.

* * *

"Alex, can you hear me mate?" Dundee called out for about the sixth time. A second later, he heard Rubble calling the boy in the distance. The steady sprinkle of rain washed away the possible footprints, so they resorted to plan B, which was calling out the boy's name and hoping for a response.

However, plan B wasn't working well either. The sprinkle was starting to make it hard for the pups to see each other across the river.

Rubble called out for the Alex again, and listened for a few seconds. Once again, he got no response from the boy. "Dundee, can you hear me? Now, he got no response from the dingo. He called out the pups name again, but the only thing he heard was the sound of light, steady rain hitting the leaves of the trees.

The bulldog was now cold, wet, tired, and completely alone in the forest. Once that realization sunk in, he added terrified to the list, and did the only thing he could do.

He called Ryder.

"Are you there," the frightened and exhausted bulldog asked his leader. "Can you hear me?"

 _"Rubble, are you okay?"_

"I'm lost, and I can't find Dundee." The pup was almost in tears.

 _"Where are you?"_

Rubble looked around, "I'm at the river. . . Dundee went to the other side to search for Alex" He sniffed trying to hold back tears.

 _"I'm sorry, I should have told you two to come back over an hour ago. . . Chase and I will come find you, just stay where you are. . . Do you want me to keep talking to you?"_

The pup thought about that for only a short moment, "Yes. That is, if you don't mind."

'So much for being the tough pup', he thought.

* * *

"Ryder," the dingo asked again. "Can you hear me?" When he got no response, he sighed. 'I probably broke it when I landed on my chest', he thought. 'Guess I need to find somewhere to get out of this rain, or I'll end up with a cold. That, and I'm no good to Alex if I don't get at least a little sleep.'

His mind made up, the dingo started looking for anything that would protect him from the rain. First, Dundee found a hollow log that could have worked if had been a little bigger. Then, he found a large tree that would have been just fine, but some of the branches made Dundee a little nervous. That and he could see lightning in the distance. He knew with electrical storms, under a tree is the last place you want to be.

As he kept looking, the only sound that crossed his ears was the pounding of the rain. It was so constant, it was almost became white noise to the ginger pup. Suddenly, a different noise came through the rain, one that made the dingo's hear skip a beat.

It was the sound of someone crying.

He closed his eyes to focus on the sound coming to his ears. Once he knew the direction it was coming from, he broke into a run to follow it.

The noise became louder and louder as Dundee ran. Finally, he saw a figure in the form of a twelve year old boy come into view. Even though his face was damp with rain, Dundee knew that there had also been tears in those blue eyes. The ginger pup noticed the soaking wet orange shirt the boy was wearing had a tear on the left shoulder, and smiled.

When the boy noticed Dundee, he put his hands to the ground and started to back away. "P-Please don't eat me."

"Calm down," Dundee said softly. "I'm not going to eat you. . . " He smiled, "My name is Dundee; I've been helping Ryder and the PAW Patrol. . . Are you Alex?"

The boy slowly nodded, "Yes."

* * *

 **As always, please Review!**


	8. The Caring Pup

**Sorry, about midway through this chapter I had a mental block that lasted for a couple of days. . . Which is when I started working on my other story _One Shot Wonders._ And, thank god, it helped me through it. Now i'm not only working on the next chapter for this story, i'm working on the next two _One Shot Wonders!_**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

 **Chapter 7**

"H-how do I know you're with the PAW Patrol?" Alex asked, unsure if he could trust the pup.

Dundee sat down next the boy, but Alex moved away again. "Well, you could just look at the temporary pup tag Ryder gave me." The ginger pup motioned for the boy to do take a closer look, but he didn't move.

"I don't see it." He said trying to adjust himself to make a run. "Besides, I've never seen a pup like you before."

The ginger pup glanced down to where the tag should have been, but it wasn't there. In the moonlight, he caught a glimpse of a small metal shard as well as a few embedded in his chest where the tad used to be 'How did I not feel that?' He thought. 'I guess I was more concerned about my ribs.' The pup winced as he felt the pain in his chest again. Then he shook his head, and looked straight into the boy's eyes. "Trust me; Ryder did give me a temporary tag. . . But, I broke it when I was hopping over the rocks in the river." He watched as the boy thought for a second, but Dundee could see boy didn't trust him.

"Alex, I'm new around here." Dundee tried to assure the boy. "Chase, Marshall, and Rocky found me hurt a couple of weeks ago. I'd been in Adventure Bay for only two days when you and your class came out here." The boy was still unsure, so the ginger pup used a little tough love. "Look, its late would you rather spend the night alone in the dark wet forest. Or, would you rather spend the night in a dark, wet forest with someone who would protect you from whatever might be out there." He raised an eyebrow, and waited for the boy to respond.

"W-well . . . o-okay," Alex moved back toward the pup.

The ginger pup smiled, "Good". He then glanced around and noticed the rain was letting up just a bit. "We need to find a place to stay tonight, and we can't stay out here."

Alex looked up. "Why not," he asked.

"I can see lightning on the horizon, and its coming our way." He looked back at the boy. "Lightning is attracted to the tallest thing on the ground. Right now, the tallest things around us are the trees."

"Oh. . ." Alex blushed.

Dundee smiled softly. "It's alright; this was your first campout. I've camped out lots of times so I pretty good at it now." The dingo watched as a small smile appeared on the boy's face. "Ready?" The pup asked, starting to stand up.

Alex nodded and got to his feet as well. "I saw a cave . . . Somewhere around here." The boy looked confused, "but I don't remember where."

"Why didn't you go in there to get dry?" Dundee asked, although he could make a pretty good guess.

"I thought there might be a bear in there." Alex's blue eyes grew wide.

The pup thought for a moment, then said. "It's the best chance we have to at least get dry tonight. If I helped you, could you find it again?"

"M-Maybe," The boy said nervously.

"Good," the dingo nodded. "Lead the way."

* * *

As the two searched for the cave, Dundee kept an eye on the moon that was weaving in and out of the storm clouds and lighting in the sky. Judging by its position, the dingo guessed it was about two in the morning. And, judging by the storm clouds and lightning, they had about ten minutes to find the cave before it started to pour rain again. Luckily, Alex was getting close, very close.

"There it is" The boy said with a little trepidation. The opening of the cave was small, only about four feet at it's largest.

As Dundee walked closer, he noticed the cave was a lot shallower than it appeared. While it looked deep from a distance, it was no more than ten feet deep. 'Definitely not big enough for a bear to live in,' he smiled. "I think this will be just fine Alex, it's too small for a bear to live in." Then, to reassure him, the ginger pup added. "It's not as big as it looks."

Slowly, the boy moved to join Dundee at the mouth of the cave. "A-are you sure."

"Positive." The pup said confidently as he walked in and tried to shake the water of his fur.

"C-can we build a fire?" Alex asked from the opening.

As Dundee sat down, he shook his head. "Normally we could, but all the sticks we could've used are too wet. It would be like trying to ignite water." To his pleasure, the boy chucked. "You won't notice how dark it is with your eyes closed. . . You are planning you get some sleep, right?"

Alex slowly nodded. "I guess so." But, the boy didn't move. Suddenly a large clap of thunder echoed through the sky, causing Alex to run into the cave, fall to his knees, and throw his arms around the shadowy form of Dundee's neck. All of the emotions that Alex had been trying to hold in came flooding out in a torrent of tears. The pup brought up one of his front paws, and rubbed the boys back. "It's okay, mate." The ginger pup whispered. "Let it all out."

"I didn't mean to wander away." Alex said once he had calmed down. "But when I did, and I realized that I had no idea where I was, I just. . ." He stopped as fresh tears started to flow.

Dundee knew exactly how the boy felt. "Alex, look at me." The boy looked up to meet the dingo's emerald green eyes. "You are a very lucky boy, and don't you forget it." Tears started to sting in his own eyes as he spoke. "You have Ryder, Katie, your grandpa, and the whole PAW Patrol looking for you. The first time I got lost in a forest, no one came to look for me. In fact, my father was the one who took me out there." Dundee now had tears flowing down his own face as he told a personal truth, one he hadn't told anyone else in his life. "He took me out there and left me there to die, because he didn't want to be bothered to take care of me. He figured I would give up. . . At first I wanted to. Every night, I cry myself to sleep,and wonder if anyone would ever find me. Then after a while I became angry, and I made up my mind to prove my so called father wrong. I survived for three months in a forest like this one, before I found my way out" The ginger pup sniffed. "I will get you back to your family, I promise."

Alex hugged the pup again, then let go, "Thanks."

"No problem, mate." Dundee smiled. "Now, both of us need to get some sleep." The pup started to lie down on his side, and then winced slightly as his ribs made contact with the ground. Alex didn't seem to notice and immediately lay down next to him and rested his head on the pups chest, making the pup wince again. 'Right now he needs comfort and if using me as a pillow makes him comfortable, I can deal with the pain;' He told himself as he closed his eyes.

After a few minutes, Dundee had almost dozed off, when Alex spoke. "Dundee, are you awake?"

"I am now," The dingo whispered with slight irritation. "What's up?"

"I can't sleep." Alex said simply.

'Duh' Dundee thought, "What would you like me to do?" When the boy didn't answer, the ginger pup made a suggestion. "Would you like me to sing you a lullaby?" It was an odd suggestion, but it was the only one Dundee could think of.

"Please, if you don't mind?" Alex's voice was timid.

"Sure." Dundee smiled in the darkness. Then, after a few moments, he started to sing. . .

 ** _Hush-a-by, don't you cry._**

 ** _Go to sleep, my little baby._**

 ** _When you wake, you shall have, all the pretty little ponies._**

 ** _In your bed, mamma said._**

 ** _Baby's riding off to dreamland._**

 ** _One by one, they've begun, to dance and prance for little baby._**

 ** _Blacks and bays, dapples and grays running in the night._**

 ** _When you wake, you shall have, all the pretty little ponies._**

 ** _Can you see the little ponies?_**

 ** _Dance before your eyes._**

 ** _All the pretty little ponies, will be there when you arise._**

Dundee hummed for a few seconds, and then continued with the song. . . 

**_Can you see the little ponies?_**

 ** _Shine before your eyes._**

 ** _All the pretty little ponies, will be there when you arise._**

 ** _Hush-a-by, don't you cry._**

 ** _Go to sleep, my little baby._**

 ** _When you wake, you shall have, all the pretty little ponies._**

 ** _All the pretty little ponies,_**

 ** _All the pretty little ponies,_**

 ** _All the pretty little ponies. . ._**

As he finished, Dundee could hear soft snoring coming from Alex. He smiled, "goodnight Alex" 

* * *

**The song is _"All the Pretty Little Ponies"_ by Kenny Loggins. **

**Hope you enjoyed! Please Review!**


	9. The Encouraging Pup

**I apologize for this chapter being so short, but you'll see why at the end I decided to end the chapter. . . Enjoy!**

* * *

The sunlight had been coming into the cave for almost three hours now, and Dundee had been patiently letting Alex sleep for at least two hours. Now the ginger pup was having a major argument with himself.

'He's been through a lot,' his soft side said. 'Let him sleep a few more minutes.'

'I get that, but Alex had his head on my probably broken ribs all night' His pain tolerance said. 'I'm not sure how much more I can take!'

'Besides, I already have a plan.' The dingo's smarts spoke up. 'The sooner we put the plan into action, the sooner we get Alex home.' His smarts being, well . . . his smarts, had figured out how to win over his soft side.

He woke Alex.

"What happened?" The boy yawned, and then remembered and asked, "So, what now?"

The dingo smiled. "We're going to go back to the river and follow it down stream to the ocean."

Alex nodded, "alright, let's go!" Right on cue, his stomach growled.

Dundee laughed. "And well also try to find food along the way." 

* * *

The pair followed the dingo's plan perfectly. It only took about an hour to find the now infamous river and after stopping for a berry breakfast, Alex and Dundee followed the river for a couple of hours until they found a beautiful view of the beach and the ocean. The only problem now was the fact that said beach and ocean were about sixty feet straight down a jagged cliff face.

"Now, what?" Alex said, staring over the cliff.

"That," the dingo said, "is a very good question." He studied the grey rock for a few moments, and then looked at the boy. "How do you feel about climbing down?"

Alex looked at the ginger pup as though he had grown two heads. "What?"

"I don't think it would be that hard to do." He pointed at the rock. "There are enough holes and small ledges to hold on to, and it's not that far."

"Looks pretty far to me." Alex said unconvinced.

Dundee smiled. "Come on, mate." He tried to encourage the boy. "It can't be more than eighty feet or so. I climbed cliffs larger than this when. . ." He paused. Dundee was going to finish that sentence with 'when I was your age', but that would only raise questions that he really didn't want to answer right now. Instead he said, "When I was younger. If I can do that, you can do this." The dingo moved to the edge then looked back at Alex. "I'll start down, then I'll have you start so I can direct you where to go."

Dundee then edged his back right paw of the cliff to his first ledge, and then his left. Once his paws were in a sturdy position, he moved his front paws to two holes he saw when he first looked over the cliff. From there, he slowly moved his paws from ledge to ledge, and hole to hole, until he felt it was safe enough (relatively speaking) for Alex to come down.

"Alright mate," the dingo directed, "bring your right leg over the cliff staying as close to the roc as you can without hurting yourself." He watched as, almost immediately, Alex tentatively slid his leg over the side almost right against the rock. "Good," the pup smiled, "keep going. . . Keep going. . . Stop! Now put your foot on the rock." The boy did what he was told and was able to catch his shoe on to a ledge the pup had used earlier.

"Great, now slide your left leg down and stop about five inches farther down than your right." Again, Alex did what he was told perfectly. "You're doing wonderful mate." Dundee praised him.

"I think I can see where I need to put my hands now." Alex said.

"Bonza! I'll just keep telling you where you need to put your feet then." Dundee smiled. "Is that alright with you?"

"Yea, that's fine. Thanks. . . Bonza?" Alex responded.

Dundee shook his head slightly, 'Americans'. To Alex he explained, "It means something's good or wonderful in Australian."

"Oh. . . Okay." Alex said as they continued climbing.

Once Alex climbed down face to face with the pup, he smiled. "Wow, I can't believe I'm doing this."

Dundee smile was wide as well. "You're doing really good, mate. . . Alright, I'm going to climb down a little more, and then I'll direct you."

The boy nodded, "sounds good."

They continued climbing down the cliff face in this same way until they were about twenty feet from the soft sand.

"Almost there." Dundee said with a bright smile as Alex met up with him. The bright smile was covering up how much the pups ribs hurt. But like he just told Alex, they were almost there. 'Then', he told himself, 'we can take a long break.' He moved his back left paw to a ledge, and then moved his right to a nearby hole. Just as took his front left paw off the face, the ledge unexpectedly gave way making the dingo lose his balance. And, before he could react, his right front paw came off as well.

"Dundee!" Alex reached for the pup with his free hand, but only grasped air. He could only watch and listen as the dingo screamed, then hit the ground with a thud.

* * *

 **Cliff hanger. . . I am so evil!. . . Please Review!**


	10. The Inspiring Pup

**I apologize for leaving you hanging, but I was having a little writers block and I was sick for a couple of days. But i'm back and not only am I updating with a chapter here, but i'm also posting two new _One Shot Wonders._**

 **Enjoy**

* * *

The boys grew wide as her stared down at the motionless pup. "Dundee," He yelled again.

He got no response.

Looking back at the rock face, he closed his eyes and took a shaky breath. 'What would Dundee do? I hope he's okay. . . What would Ryder do? I wish he were here.' His eyes pricked with tears. He took another deep breath, and then realized that this one was less shaky than the last one. Alex took a few more breaths until he was calm enough to open his eyes again. 'I need to get down to him first, and then I can figure out how to get him help. . . Where do I need to put my foot next?' He looked below him in an attempt to find a ledge or small hole. When he found a hole he thought would work, he slid his foot that direction, and eventually caught the hole.

Then he glanced around for a place to put his hand. A moment later he found one, he slid his right hand that direction. Suddenly, his hand hit a sharp piece of rock he didn't see. Alex jerked his hand away from the cliff face, and stared at his hand. There was now a fresh cut about three inches across his palm, just barely starting to ooze blood. 'I can't do anything about it up here', He decided. Then, careful to avoid that same spot, he slid his hand over until it rested on the ledge.

Alex looked around searching for a place to put his next foot and noticed the remains of the small ledge that gave way and caused Dundee to fall. He closed his eyes and took another deep breath, and then continued searching the cliff face.

The boy slowly continued to climb down the rock face like a snail crawling down the glass wall of a fish tank to clean it, but he was coming down. Eventually, he looked down and realized he only about ten feet or so from the sand where the ginger pup lay. 'Almost there,' he encouraged himself as he placed his right foot on the next ledge. 'I'm almost there.'

His right foot situated, Alex shifted his weight to that foot in order to reach a hand hole. The boy had almost reached the hole, when he heard a cracking noise. 'No don't!'

The ledge he was putting all his weight on gave way, sending him crashing to the sand.

After a few moments, Alex opened his blue eyes and looked around and realized he was now on the sand beneath the cliff. 'Well, at least I'm down. . . Dundee,' he noticed the pup a few feet away from him. As he started to get to his feet, he felt a shooting pain in his right ankle as he put weight on it. Painful tears sprung to his eyes as he sat back down on the sand with a thud, and looked at his ankle. It was swollen to the size of a softball and had way too many scrapes and cuts to think about.

So he didn't, instead he crawled over to the dingo and placed his ear to the pup's chest. He let out a breath he didn't even know he was holding when he heard a soft heartbeat. 'At least he's alive, but he still needs help' As well as several scrapes and what were bound to be bruises ln the morning, Alex noticed the small trail of blood leading away from the pups muzzle. 'He needs help now, but I don't want to move him, but I don't want to leave him here alone.' His heart started to beat a little faster. 'What am I going to do?' Tears began to spill out his blue eyes and down his face down his face.

Then, he flashed back to last night Dundee found him. . .

 _"Look, its late would you rather spend the night alone in the dark wet forest. Or, would you rather spend the night in a dark, wet forest with someone who would protect you from whatever might be out there?"_

 _'_ He protected me, now I'll protect him.' He wiped the tears away, and stood the best he could on his ankle. 'I need to make a plan, just like Dundee would.' The boy looked out into the ocean, when inspiration struck him. 'We can't have gone too far away from Adventure Bay. Maybe, if I walk along the beach I'll find it!' He glanced back down at the pup, 'but how do I move him? I can't pick him up, but maybe. . .' He reached down and grabbed one of the dingo's paws, and started to pull.

The pup moved a little, but it took so much effort for Alex pull the pup across the sand that he was afraid he would injure the pup more. And, being hampered by his swollen ankle and the cut on his hand didn't help. 'I _can't_ pull him.'

Alex sat down in front of the pup, and closed his eyes. "What am I going to do?" When he opened them again, he was surprised to see a woman standing in front of him. He moved to get between her and the pup. "Who're you?"

She sat down in front of him, tucking the skirt of her white flowing dress under her knees. "My name is not important." She spoke with an Australian accent, "but I'm a friend of Dundee's. . . And, I'm here to help." She brushed a strand of her almost white, blonde hair out of her pale face.

"How do I know that?" The boy asked, still not convinced.

She smiled so sweetly that her answer caught him off guard. "You don't. But then again, you don't have a choice."

Alex thought about her words for a moment, and then decided she was right. "Okay, I trust you."

"Good," she smiled wider. "What's the plan?"

"Well. . . I can't move very well," He pointed to his ankle. "So. . . Maybe I can stay here, and if you don't mind." He looked up at her, "maybe you can follow the beach down to Adventure Bay and get help?"

She stood up, "sounds like a plan. . . Do you need anything before I go?"

He looked back at Dundee, and started to stroke the ginger pup's soft fur. He shook his head. "No. . . Thank you."

Alex turned back at the woman, but she was gone.

* * *

 **Well what do you think? Please review!**


	11. The Teetering Pup

**Again, sorry for the nonexistent update. . . No excuses. . . Enjoy!**

* * *

 **Chapter 11**

Katie heard the sound of rumbling of engines, as she opened the flap to her tent and looked around the campground. She cast her blue eyes up the trail where the noise was coming from, and watched as Ryder's ATV came down the path followed by Marshall's fire truck.

The blonde walked out just as the two machines were turned off. "Did you find anything?" She asked as Ryder took off his helmet.

He focused his brown eyes on her. "We found a small cave on the other side of the river." He paused to wipe the sweat from his forehead and take a drink of water. "Marshall and I found footprints and paw prints that we think belong to Alex and Dundee." He took another drink.

"We followed them down the river as far as we could with our vehicles, but the terrain got too rough." Marshall said, picking up where the teen left off. "Ryder and I came back to get supplies so we can go back and follow them on foot."

Katie looked back up at Ryder and started to say something, but was interrupted by the sound of footsteps coming down the gravel path to the campsite. Three pairs of eyes looked up to see an unfamiliar woman coming towards them.

They continued looking at her for a moment, and then Ryder walked to her. "Excuse me," he said, "can I help you?"

She brushed a strand of her blond hair out of her face which revealed her blue eyes. "Are you Ryder?" She asked in a thick Australian accent. When he nodded, she smiled and continued. "I found Alex and Dundee."

The teen's eyes lit up, "where?"

"On the beach a few miles from Adventure Bay. . . You need to get there quick, there both hurt." She finished just as Marshall and Katie came up beside Ryder. "You must be Marshall and Katie." She knelt down to the Dalmatians level, tucking her white dress underneath her knees. "You need to go with Ryder down to the beach."

Marshall cocked his head to one side. "Why?"

She smiled as she stood up. "That's where Alex and Dundee are. And, like I just told Ryder, there both hurt and need your first aid training."

The Dalmatians blue filled with concern shot up to look at his leader. "Ryder we've got to go!"

Ryder nodded at the pup, and then looked the woman in the eyes. "Thank you."

As the teen ran back to his ATV and the Dalmatian back to his truck, Katie turned to the woman. "Who are you?"

In return, the woman gave her a warm smile. "That's not important."

The teen narrowed her blue eyes. "How do we know we can trust you?"

"You don't" the woman said frankly. "But then again, if I'm right, you don't have a choice."

Katie slowly nodded, "I guess you're right. . ." As she finished, she heard the familiar sound of Ryders ATV stopping behind her. She turned around to face him, but he spoke before she could say anything.

"Do you want to come with us?" He asked. Without missing a beat, she nodded and jumped on the seat behind him. He smiled, "hold on." Nodding, she hesitated for a second, and then wrapped her arms around his waist. Under his helmet, Marshall noticed his normally unflappable leader was the color of the Dalmatians firetruck.

"Are you ready, Ryder?" Marshall smiled.

"Uh. . . Sure." The teen shook his head slightly to refocus himself. "Yea, let's go." He turned to the woman to thank her. . .

But, she was gone . . .

Ryder quickly looked around, but the woman had completely disappeared. "Did either of you happen to see where she went?"

"No. . ." Marshall said, obviously confused as well. "But we need to go."

The leader nodded and revved his engine. "Let's go."

* * *

Alex couldn't help glancing up down the beach every couple on minuets as he stroked the ginger pups' fur. The pup was still bleeding from several cuts and scrapes over his body. And the boy was sure the more the pup bled, there was less of a chance he would survive. 'I need some sort of fabric wrap his wounds. . .' He closed his blue eyes trying to focus. After a few seconds, his eyes flew open. Within seconds, he had his orange shirt off and was tearing it into the strips. As he wrapped what he could, he continued to check Dundee's pulse every few minutes, and began to get more and more worried. The boy wasn't sure, but he was fairly sure the dingo's heartbeat was getting slower. "Stay with me Dundee . . . Help should be here soon."

* * *

As they crossed the red bridge into downtown Adventure Bay, Ryder pushed the communicator button in his helmet. "Zuma," he said as the labs face appeared on the screen. "You and Rocky are still Seal Island Lighthouse, Right?"

The lab nodded. "Yep, Captain Turbot got back a couple of minutes ago. We we're about to come join the search."

"We got a tip that Alex and Dundee are down the beach a few miles, and that they're both hurt . . . Can you and Rocky meet us down at the beach to help us find them?"

Zuma nodded, "I'm ready to get wet, Ryder."

"Green means go!" Ryder heard the mix-breed say in the background.

The leader smiled. "Good, see you in a minuet."

Ryder, Katie, and Marshall pulled up to the sidewalk net to the entrance to the beach. "Ryder," the Dalmatian said looking around, "my truck won't drive on the sand. I think it will just get stuck."

The teen nodded, "I agree. That's why you're going to ride with Zuma in his hovercraft." Just as he spoke the words, Zuma's hovercraft could be seen coming on the beach.

"Which way Ryder?" the lab asked.

The leader cast his brown eyes down the beach to the right, then the left. As he did, he noticed something that told him which way to go. "Left," He said confidently. "The beach only goes a couple of miles to the right."

"And it's always crowded, dude." Zuma nodded, "Someone would have noticed them by now."

Ryder smiled, he had taught his pups well. "Exactly. . . Marshall, since Zuma's hovercraft and my own hovercraft are the only two vehicles that can drive on sand, and you and Katie have the most medical knowledge, you will be riding with Zuma and Katie will ride with me." Both pups barked a conformation, as Rocky hopped out of the orange craft. "Rocky, I want you to figure out a way to get Marshall's ambulance across the sand so we will have an easier to transport Dundee if we have to."

The mix-breed nodded, "Don't lose it, reuse it!"

Ryder watched Rocky walked over to the red truck, as Marshall walked to the hovercraft and hopped in. "Alright," the leader said, "Let's go find them."

* * *

Once again, Alex cast his blue eyes down the beach, and then back at the ginger pup. He closed his eyes, and as Dundee's heart slowed to a crawl, his own pulse started to race. The sun almost resembled and orange wedge sitting on top of the blue-green Ocean, and Alex would soon disappear behind it. Alex knew that soon Ryder would likely call the search for the night. And, he also knew that there was no way the dingo would survive the night. 'Come on Ryder, please hurry.' He glanced across the sand again, and let out a sigh of relief.

The silhouette of two familiar hovercraft's became clear, along with four familiar faces.

* * *

 **So, Alex and Dundee are rescued. . . But is it too late?**


	12. The Teetering Pup (Part Two)

**Again, sorry for the lengthy delay between chapters. . . I'm working on a spin-off of my 'One Shot Wonders' story. Stay tuned for details!**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

 **Chapter 11**

"Ryder?" The doctor came out through the double doors of the ER. The teen raised his hand as he and Katie stood up along with the seven pups at their feet. The doctor walked over to them and gave smile. "Alex broke his ankle when he fell, but other than that and a few cuts, scrapes, and bruises, he'll be just fine. . . His grandfather's with him right now. "

Katie and Ryder glanced at each other and gave a small smile. They were both glad to know that the boy they thought of as their little brother was going to be okay. The teens focused their attention back to the doctor, but before either could speak, something in the doctor's hand caught Ryder's attention.

"Is that Dundee's collar?" He knew it was, the brown and black leather was very distinctive, so he felt his heart sink when he saw it.

"Is Dundee okay?" Marshall's voice was filled with concern; he had obviously noticed it too.

The doctor nodded as he handed the collar to Ryder, "Yes, we took it off him so we could stich up some small cuts on his upper chest. . . I figured it would be safer in your hands than ours." He motioned for them to sit down. Then the doctor let out a breath and spoke. "We've done all we can do for him, at least for now." He could see the faces in front of him become more concerned. He continued. "He broke seven ribs which ended up puncturing both lungs." He sat down as well, and continued. "Right now, we're draining the fluid from his lungs. Once they are completely drained, we will perform surgery to repair them and set his ribs."

There was a moment's pause as the pups looked at each other. Then finally, Skye spoke up. "Can we see them?"

The doctor smiled, "Sure. I can't let you stay in Dundee's room for too long because we'll need to get him ready for surgery. But you're more than welcome to stay with Alex as long as you want." As he stood up, the other got to their feet as well. "I'll show you he way."

They passed through a nearby set of double doors that lead to a somewhat short hallway. The doctor led them down to the fourth door on the left. "Dundee's in here," he said opening the door. "Alex is in that room." He pointed to door across the hall.

Ryder looked down at the pups, "Chase, would you and Marshall come with me and Katie to check on Dundee? I want to bounce an idea off the two of you."

The two pups exchanged curious glances. "Yes Sir," the shepherd finally said as Marshall nodded.

Nodding, the teen cast his brown eyes on the rest of the pups. "Do the rest of you mind staying with Alex?" The others nodded and walked across the hallway. He turned back to the open door, and then looked at Katie. "Ready?"

She nodded, but he wasn't convinced. He knew her better than to take her at her word, so he took her hand as they entered the room.

The dingo's body was mostly covered by a blanket, with the exception of his head. His muzzle was covered a clear breathing mask to one of the machines that surrounded the head of the bed on both sides. The only sound in the room was a slow but steady beep coming from the machine monitoring the ginger pups' heartbeat. The four of them stood in silence for a few more moments, until Ryder walked over to the motionless pup and spoke.

"You were a very good pup." He knew it was an understatement, but it was the only thing he could think of. The leader stroked the fur on the ginger pups head. "Rubble told me all about how you tracked Alex through the forest."

"He wouldn't stop talking about it." Marshall gave a small smile as he stopped at his leader's side, and focused on the ginger pup as well. "He talks about you like you're a superhero"

Ryder smiled down at the Dalmatian then back at the dingo. "Alex is fine. . . Katie, Mr. Porter, that's his grandpa, and I can't thank you enough for finding him."

Chase appeared at Marshall's side. " _He_ wouldn't stop talking about you either."

The teen went on to explain how Alex had climbed down the rest of the mountain, until he fell the last ten feet or so to the ground. "He broke his ankle, but other than that, he's fine. . . Alex was really worried about you" Without warning, his dark brown eyes began to sting with tears. "You helped more then you'll ever know. . . You gave him strength and courage he didn't know he had." Ryder swallowed hard. "He checked your pulse every few minutes to make sure you weren't going to leave him alone again." As he continued to stroke the pup's fur, Ryders mind drifted to the woman who Alex said came down the beach at just the right time to help them. As the boy described her, Ryder had realized that it was the same woman who came to the campsite to tell them where to find them. "We need to find her." He whispered.

As if she was reading his mind, Katie spoke his thoughts out loud. "I wonder where the woman in the in the white dress went . . . We need to find her and thank her."

Ryder nodded. "I was just thinking the same thing. . . I turned around to thank her, but she was gone." He explained.

"I have something else that was strange, Ryder." Marshall said. "Why did I never catch her scent?" He glanced at his mate and added. "I know my nose isn't as good as yours, Chase. But, she kneeled down to look me in the eye. We were no more than eight inches away from each other, and I never got a scent."

Chase shook his head, "that's impossible. . . Any dog should be able to catch a scent from that distance. And anyone who has come close to you should leave a scent." He moved closer and planted his nose on the Dalmatians neck where scents tend to collect. "Let's see. . . Ryder, Katie, and Alex," He spoke as he sniffed deeply. "Zuma?"

"I rode in his hovercraft down the beach." Marshall explained, and Ryder nodded.

The shepherd continued. "Skye, Rubble, and Everest. . ."

"All gave me a hug when we got back." The Dalmatian interjected again.

Suddenly, Chase gave a low growl. "Rocky?"

Marshall's cheeks turned the color of his own firetruck. Before Chase had come out of the closet, the Dalmatian and the Mix-breed had been 'together' a few times. But, when Chase and Zuma had come out for their mates, there was no going back. Chase new that very well that Marshall and Rocky were still family to each other, and that the Dalmatian was deeply in love with him, not Rocky. But that still didn't mean he didn't want to get the scent of the mix-breed off of _**His**_ mate as soon as he caught a whiff.

"Chase, you know his scent is all over everything of Zuma's." He leaned close and whispered. "They've done it _everywhere_ you know." The Dalmatians lips turned into a smile. "Just like you and me."

Ryder snapped his fingers to get their attention. "Pups, focus."

"I'll fix this later." The shepherd whispered as he started sniffing again. "Dundee, of course. . ." He said, raising his voice to a normal level. Then the shepherd leaned into his mate's ear and whispered again. "You smell nice."

Marshall nuzzled his mate without thinking. "You don't smell so bad yourself."

"Pups!" Ryder said again rolling his eyes. He loved that his pups where in love, but this was not the time or the place to show it.

The two pups jumped and blushed. "He's right." Chase said quickly. "I can identify every scent on him. . . There's nothing new."

"That's strange." Katie said, shaking her blonde ponytail back and forth. "How could she not leave a scent?"

After the room fell silent again for a few moments, Ryder spoke again. "Chase is right, it's impossible."

Before he could continue, the doctor appeared in the doorway along with a nurse. "Excuse me," the doctor said, "We just came to check on him."

The small group moved away from the bed to give the doctor some space. They watched in silence as he moved from machine to machine, analyzed it, and took notes.

Finally he looked up from his clipboard. "He's ready. . . His lungs have drained nicely." The doctor gave the group an encouraging smile. "I'm going to have to ask you to leave so we can prep him for surgery."

Ryder nodded, and then walked over to Dundee and once again placed his hand on the pups head. As he moved his hand over the pups ginger fur, he smiled. "See you in a little while."

* * *

Once the four of them were out in the hallway, Marshall looked up at his leader. "Ryder, you said you wanted to talk to us about something in the room." He paused, "do you still want to?"

The teen nodded, but Katie was the one who spoke. "I'll just join Alex and the others."

He reached out and caught her hand as she reached for the door. "I was going to tell you too," He gave a small smile, "because I'm going to need your help." It wasn't until he finished speaking, that he realized he was still holding her hand. The teen quickly let go, and blushed. "Sorry."

Katie smiled and turned back to them, blushing as well. "It's okay. . . Now, what did you want to talk about?'

* * *

 **Please Review! (Again, i'm so evil with the cliff hanger)**


	13. The Lonely Pup

**Now that I'm getting closer to the end, annd I know exactally where I want the story to go, expect chapters to come fairly quickly.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

 **Chapter 12. . .**

When Ryder, Katie and the two pups entered the room, they were immediately surprised by how full the room was. There were three cots with three sets of sheets ready to be put on, as well as four large pillows on the floor for the pups. "Did I miss something?" Ryder said directing the question at his pups.

The five pups exchanged glances, and then Rocky tentatively spoke up. "We didn't think you would want us to drive back to the lookout tonight."

Ryder continued to simply give them a questioning gaze.

"So," Zuma quietly picked up where his mate left off, "we asked if we could just stay here."

"The doctor didn't seem to have a problem with it." Skye added.

The five of them gave their leader their best puppy dog eyes. They knew full well Ryder couldn't say no to even one set of their eyes, let alone five.

He let out a deep sigh, and smiled as he looked at Katie. "I guess I don't have a choice, do I?"

She was smiling too, "Probably not. . . They know you too well."

Still smiling, he shook his head. "Alright, we'll all stay tonight."

The pups started to clap and cheer until Ryder held up a finger. "But," he said to get their attention, "at least some of you have to go back to The Lookout tomorrow."

Once the leader got nods and 'okay Ryders' from the pups, he and Katie walked over to the bed where his 'little brother' was sleeping. As she sat Katie sat on the end of the bed, she looked the boy over and took note of every bandage she could see. And every cut, scrape, and bruise she saw, told her the same thing.

It was her fault.

"It's not your fault." She looked up to see Mr. Porter, who was seated in a nearby chair, smiling softly at her. "It's not your fault, Katie." He repeated.

She shook her head as tears stung her blue eyes. "I should have kept better track of him. . . I only looked away for a second."

"Katie," the man gave a small sigh. "Alex is a very curious boy; it usually takes the Ryder and the whole Paw Patrol to keep up with him." Sensing she didn't believe him, said. "I know this is going to sound cheesy, but don't blame yourself . . . I'm pretty sure the pups don't, Ryder doesn't." At that moment, Ryder nodded to make the man's point. "See," Mr. Porter smiled. "I don't blame you," He continued, "and don't think Alex would blame you either."

She gave a small smile, but shook her head again. "It doesn't matter. . . I blame me."

The grandfather started to say something else, but stopped when he felt a gentle hand on his shoulder. "Stop," Ryder said quietly with a knowing smile. "Trust me; it's a losing battle." He took his hand off the man's shoulder, "She'll blame herself until she feels like she's made it up to him."

Mr. Porter nodded. And after a few moments, he looked up and smiled. "How's Dundee the Dynamic Dingo?"

Ryder raised an eyebrow, "Dundee the Dynamic Dingo?" He repeated.

The man laughed, "That's what Alex calls him."

The teen's nodded and smile at the boy on the bed. After a moment, their smiled faded slightly. "The doctor and his nurses are prepping him for surgery to repair his lungs and set his ribs. . . He seemed pretty confident that Dundee would pull through."

"Good," the grandfather nodded. He cast his grey-brown eyes back at his grandson, his everything, and swallowed hard. "I want to thank him personally for finding and rescuing Alex." A few moments of silence passed until Mr. Porter unexpectedly yawned.

Noticing the yawn, Ryder looked up at the clock over the door. It was almost one-o-clock in the morning. "Come on pups, time for bed." As he turned to face them, the leader couldn't help but smile.

His pups were already snuggled together, asleep on the pillows.

* * *

Somewhere in the night, Everest woke to the sound of two humans whispering. One of them she recognized instantly as Ryder lying down on his cot. The other one, who was leaning over the bed, took her a few moments to place as the voice as the doctor who was operating on Dundee.

'Dundee' she opened her frost blue eyes just enough to see the silhouettes of Ryder and the doctor whispering so they wouldn't wake the others. Neither had noticed she was awake, so she decided to do a little eavesdropping on their conversation.

"He pulled through just fine Ryder. . ." The doctor paused. "And once we got him settled, his heartbeat and his breathing returned to normal. . . We'll keep him on oxygen overnight just to be safe, and check on him in the morning."

Ryder let out a breath he didn't know he was holding, and smiled, "Thanks."

The doctor smiled back. "Your welcome . . . go back to sleep, doctors' orders."

Everest couldn't help but smile at that remark as she watched the doctor leave the room. The husky watched as Ryder laid back down and go back to sleep.

She knew she should do the same, but she didn't. Instead, she looked around at the other pups. Rubble and Skye caught her attention first, because the way there were cuddled was so cute. The bulldog was lying on his side with arms splayed out. Skye was lying right up against him with her head in the crook of his neck. She looked from them to the other pups that were snuggled together in slightly different ways. But, the feeling was the same.

It was pure, devoted, and unconditional love.

At that moment, the snow white husky felt incredibly lonely. 'Jake would tell me I should talk about it with someone. But everyone's asleep, and I don't want to wake anyone. . . Who could I talk to?' She was looking around the room, when the door caught her eye. Suddenly, she knew who to talk to. . . Even though, she knew he couldn't listen to her.

* * *

The husky nudged open the door, and walked into the silent room. As she looked into the room, she noticed a chair next to the dingo's bed. Everest jumped into the chair, and turned around to face the bed and get her first look at the Dundee. The first thing she noticed about him was his fur. To her, it was the perfect combination of light brown, rust red, and the color of dark sand. His ears stood up straight like Chase's, but the rest of his face was similar to Zuma. 'That makes sense, Katie said he was part lab' she thought. 'I wish I could see more. . . Wait, where did that come from?' The husky shook her head to refocus herself, and then she spoke.

"Hi," she said the unmoving pup. "We haven't met yet, but I've heard your name. And you've probably heard mine. . . I'm Everest, the snow and ice rescue pup. . . The reason we haven't is because I live with Ryder's friend Jake on his mountain. . . It really is called Jake's Mountain, by the way. Jakes grandfather, who was also Jake, bought all the land on the mountain because he loved the snow. He passed that love on to Jake, who spent every winter up here. When Grandpa Jake passed away, he left everything to his grandson Jake . . . He moved in to the cabin his grandfather lived in, and later built a lodge and ski resort on the mountain." She smiled wide. "About four years ago, the mountain was made a National Park named 'Jake's Mountain."

"Anyway," she continued, "Jake and I have been snowed in for the past couple of weeks . . . When I came down to help look for Alex, it was the first time I had seen the rest of the PAW Patrol in a month. . . I know that seems kind of weird, since we're a team and all. But most of the time, Jake and I can handle the problems and emergencies that come our way, and Ryder and the pups can handle what happens in Adventure Bay. And like I said, we got snowed in for about ten days in there. So it's not as bad as it seems."

She shook her head, "sorry. I didn't mean to babble, I just haven't had anyone to talk to for a while. . ." Everest looked down, and then back at the pup. "It's just . . . a few of months ago Jake got a girlfriend. Between you and me, I think she's the one. . . But now, we don't spend as much time together as we used to. . . Don't get me wrong, I like her to. And Jake's doing the best he can to be there for both of us, but I still feel lonely most of the time. I love the pups, Ryder, and Katie, their family. I'm happy they've found love with each other, I really am. Now I just feel like a third wheel with Jake and Sandy, and a. . ." She thought for a moment. "Seventh wheel, I guess, with the pups . . . Just now, seeing the pups snuggled together." She felt tears sting her eyes. "I finally realized how lonely I was."

Before the tears threatened to fall, she surprised herself by yawning. Just like that, the tears disappeared and where replaced with tired eyes that needed sleep.

She glanced back at the door to the room, but never moved from the chair. "I can't go back in there. . . Not tonight." She told Dundee as she looked back at the bed. "I don't think anyone would mind if I stayed here tonight, do you?" A smile came to her lips as she turned around in the chair three times. Then she lay down, curling her body into a ball, and cast her frost blue eyes on the bed one more time. "Thanks for listening."

* * *

 **Whew. . . That chapter was longer than I intended. But, I think it worked.**

 **See you soon. . . And please, please, please review!**


	14. The Blushing Pup

**And now for a chapter that's short and sweet. . .**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

 **Chapter 12**

He opened his forest green eyes about a quarter of the way, and groaned. 'What happened this time?' The ginger pup thought. 'And what's with that question again?' He looked around the room as thoughts and memories started to fill his mind. 'Hospital room . . . Burning, painful ribs . . .'

His eyes drifted around the room until they landed on an unfamiliar girl pup with a dark grey collar asleep in the chair next to the bed. He couldn't help notice her snow white fur, and how it created a perfect canvas for the colors of the morning sun shining through the window. After a few long moments, he realized he was staring at her. The dingo quickly looked away, and let more memories flood his mind. The more awake he became, the more he seemed to remember. 'The forest, the river, the cliff. . .'

"Alex!" He said as his eyes came open a little more.

The white pup's ears twitched, and then she slowly opened her eyes to the unfamiliar sound. She sat up and looked at the bed, then smiled. "You're awake!" Her tail started wagging rapidly. "I need to tell Ryder." Then she noticed something else. 'The doctor must have taken the breathing mask sometime during the night.'

She started to jump down, but was stopped when the dingo spoke again.

"Where's Alex, is he okay?" He asked. She glanced at the dingo's heart monitor, and noticed his heart was beating alarmingly fast.

"He's safe now. . ." she said gently to calm him down. She repeated what the doctor had told the rest of them hours earlier. As she did, she was glad to see his eyes soften and his heartbeat slow to a normal rhythm. She smiled "I'm Everest, by the way."

He smiled back, "Dundee. . . But you probably already knew that."

She blushed and said; "It's um . . ." Everest paused and stared as she finally noticed the most beautiful pair of forest green eyes she had ever seen. 'Wow. . . I just want to keep looking at them.' The husky continued staring into the dingo's eyes for a few more moments, until she remembered she was supposed to be talking. "It's um . . . Nice to finally meet you, even under these circumstances."

The ginger pup nodded, "You too." He remembered the name as soon as she said it, but he got caught up in her amazing ice blue eyes for a few moments. "You're the snow pup?" He asked, even though he said it more as a statement, than a question. When she nodded, he continued. "I've heard wonderful things about you from Ryder and the pups."

Her blush deepened. Before he could continue, both pups turned to the sound of the door opening.

"Everest," Ryder smiled. "I thought I heard your voice in here."

"Ryder," the husky smiled wide and her tail wag wildly, "Dundee's awake."

Ryder's face lit up. "Great!" he hurried over to the bed and sat on the edge. "How do you feel pup?"

"Like an elephant sat on my chest, mate." Dundee responded truthfully.

The leader laughed. "Well, the doctor said you broke several ribs. . . So I'm not surprised."

"Do you want me to go get the other pups, Ryder?" Everest asked as she jumped down from the chair.

The human shook his head. "Not yet, I want the doctor to look at him first. . . Could you go get him for me?"

She nodded, and then looked back at Dundee. "I'll be right back." She said as she left the room.

As ginger pup watched her leave, he couldn't help but smile. Without thinking he said. "What a Shelia. . ." When Dundee immediately realized what he said, he panicked slightly, and blushed again. "Did I say that out loud?"

Ryder smiled and nodded. "What a Shelia?" he raised an eyebrow.

The dingo cleared his throat, "It's an Aussie slang term. . ." He avoided the human's curious brown eyes. "It means a girl who is really, really. . . "He cleared his throat again, "hot."

* * *

Everest started down the hallway when she bumped into a familiar pup. "Sorry Skye, I was a little bit distracted."

The Cockapoo smiled, "Your fine. . . How's Dundee?" When the husky gave her a blank look, Skye motioned toward the door with her head. "You just came out of his room. . . And don't think I didn't notice you blush when I said his name." She gave her best friend a sly grin, which only made the husky blush harder.

"He woke up a few minutes ago." Everest said, changing the subject slightly. "Ryder's with him now." She stared walking down the hallway with Skye.

"Can we see him?" Skye asked.

The husky shook her head. "Not yet, Ryder wants the doctor to see Dundee first. . . To see if he's up to having company."

Skye nodded, and gave a knowing smile. "Okay, I won't ask about you and Dundee anymore." She knew not to push.

But she knew she wasn't imagining the husky blushing again at the sound of the ginger pup's name.

* * *

 **Please Review!**


	15. The Revealing Pup

**Only a couple more chapters left . . .**

* * *

"Breath in for me," The doctor asked as the ginger pup gave a deep breath and held it. "Now breathe out. . . Good Dundee. . . Do you have any pain when you breathe?" When the dingo shook his head, the human smiled as he looked from the pair of curious eyes coming from the pup in the bed, to the other three sets of eyes watching him in the room. "Well, your breathing is almost normal again." The doctor motioned to the x-rays that were attached to the nearby light box. "Your ribs are pretty much healed as well. . . As long as he doesn't do anything too strenuous for a few more months, I think he can go home tomorrow."

Even though he had been expecting the news any day now, Ryder could barely contain his excitement. "That great," he said as Katie nodded.

Everest jumped on the bed and nuzzled the pup she was growing very fond of. "I'm glad you're going to be okay. . . It's been a long three months."

The dingo nuzzled her back. "I know, but you made it fly by." He was more than a little fond of her too.

As the two pups talked, the doctor whispered to Ryder. "I've got other patents to see, but I'll come back and check on him later." The teen nodded as the doctor when out the door.

Ryder cast his brown eyes back to the others. "I was hoping the doctor would let you come home soon."

"Home?" the dingo said slightly confused. As far as he knew, he would be staying at the Lookout until he fully recovered. But from there, he wasn't sure.

The teen smiled, sat down on the edge of the bed next to Katie, and looked into the pups eyes. "Dundee, I'd like to tell you I gave this a lot of thought. But truthfully, I didn't have to. . . I knew I wanted to do this as soon as I knew you were going to make a full recovery. . . Once Marshall and Chase said yes, I just had to wait for you to recover." Ryder drew in a deep breath and said. "Dundee, I would like you to become the newest member of the Paw Patrol as a search and rescue pup."

The teen reached into the pocket of his blue jeans, pulled something out, and showed it to the ginger pup. It was a pup tag with three different sized, overlapping forest green trees on a beige background.

Dundee looked from Ryder's brown eyes to Katie's blue eyes, to the ones that belonged to the pup he was in love with, all three faces shined bright with excitement and anticipation. Then, as he set his eyes back on the tag, his mind flashed to another face, the face of the woman who sat down next to him on the sofa in the gold and white marble room. He smiled softly. "She told me she would give me a new life," he whispered, "and she did."

"Who," Everest asked.

The ginger pup flinched. 'I whispered to loud.' To the husky he said, "you probably wouldn't believe me if I told you."

As Ryder sat down on the bed next to Katie, he placed the pup tag on the side table. "Try us," he said smiling.

The dingo took a deep breath, and then let it out. "Okay. . . First off, Dundee is only part of my name. . . My full name is Derek Dundee."

Everest tilted her head. "Like the pop star?"

He nodded, "sort of . . . But here's the part you won't believe." He took a deep breath to steel his shaky nerves, and then let it out. "I'm _the_ Derek Dundee."

The room fell silent for a moment as the three of them stared at the ginger pup. Then, she reached up and began to stroke the pup's fur. "That day . . . in my clinic when I overheard you sing. . . I thought it sounded familiar. . . But at the time I couldn't place it. . ." She focused her blue eyes on his green ones. "I believe you."

Ryder nodded. "If Katie believes you, I believe you."

"Me too," Everest said smiling. "But," she paused as she tried to find the right words. "If you don't mind me asking, how did you end up here as a pup?"

Katie looked from the husky to the dingo. "Last I heard Derek Dundee disappeared after a concert in Melbourne."

The up cast his eyes down at the bed, unable to look any of them in the eye. "I didn't disappear exactly. . ." Dundee started to feel his eyes sting with tears. "I wanted a way out of my life . . . My life that I wasn't happy with. . . So . . . After the concert. . ." He tried to swallow the lump in his throat, but failed. "I threw myself off a cliff . . . Into the ocean."

Katie continued to stroke the pups ginger fur in silence as the tears rolled down his muzzle. After a few moments, she got the courage to speak again. "May I. . . May I ask why?"

The pup nodded. "Like I said, I wasn't happy with my life." He sniffed, and his voice took and edge of anger. "I realized my friends became my friends _after_ I became famous. . . And I knew that when my fame faded away, my friends would too." The dingo let out a breath. "I knew they never really cared about me . . . So, no matter how many people I was around, I always felt alone." The pup gave a wry smile. "Maybe jumping off the cliff to get out of it wasn't the best idea. . . But, it seemed like a good idea at the time."

Ryder narrowed his eyes a little. "uh-hu."

"Anyway," the dingo continued. "When I woke up, I was in this room covered in gold and white marble. And there was this woman." Now the pup gave a real smile. "She kind of looked like you, Katie. . . She had long, pale blonde hair. And lightest blue-grey eyes I have ever seen."

Ryder and Katie locked eyes on each other. "The woman who came to us at the campground," Katie said. "Ryder, you don't think?"

"I don't know. . . What do you think?" He said, unsure how to respond.

Katie smiled, "I think its same woman!" She cast her blue eyes at Dundee. "Do you?"

He smiled as well, "I have no doubt. . ." His eyes met Ryders. "She said that my greatest talent came out of my darkest memories. . . She was right." The dingo's tears had almost disappeared. "Yes Ryder, I will join the Paw Patrol."

"Yay!" Everest jumped at the other pup and without warning, pressed her lips against his. And to his surprise, Dundee kissed her back. After moment she pulled away, and looked down. "Sorry," she blushed, "I just got excited."

"Everest, look at me." She looked back at the ginger pup, and he was smiling. "You did notice I kissed you back, right?" The husky smiled and nodded. He leaned in and pressed his lips to hers making her eyes go wide. Then after a moment her eyes slid to where half opened in pure ecstasy. Dundee noticed her eyes, and deepened the kiss. Again, a few more moments passed, until the dingo pulled away. "I love you Everest."

The husky smiled. "I love you to."

Ryder watched the two new lovebirds have a few more moments with each other, then he spoke up. "I'm glad you two like each other so much." His smile grew wide as the two pups gave him curious looks. "Because I talked to Jake." The teen paused for dramatic effect. "He's going to adopt you Dundee. . . You're going to live with him and Everest."

The two pups smiled and kissed each other again.

* * *

 **Well. . . What do you think?**

 **Please Review!**


	16. The Newest Pup (Part One)

**Yes, I'm finally updating the story after almost two months of silence. Iv'e been distracted by a couple of stories i'm going to be posting after this one is finished. . . Speaking of this story. . . Please enjoy!**

* * *

 **Chapter 15. . .**

"Well," Everest looked at the dingo from the doorway of the hospital room, "are you ready to go to the Lookout?"

Dundee smiled and nodded as he walked up to her. "As ready as I'm ever gonna be I guess." They walked in step from the room and down the hallway. "I'm kind nervous though."

She moved closer to him, "you'll do just fine," The husky said softly. "The pups consider you family. . . Becoming part of the team is just making it official." She nuzzled him, "just like yesterday when you officially became a part of Jake's family."

He stopped and looked down at his new pup tag attached to his collar. Ryder had taken it to be engraved the day before, after Jake had signed the ginger pup's adoption papers. It now showed his name, Jake's last name, the address of the cabin where he would now live with Jake and Everest.

"Come on," she smiled, "Ryders and the others are waiting for us." Everest gave him a kiss on the cheek, "You'll do fine."

Dundee blushed slightly and nodded. "Okay. . . Let's go." He said as they started walking down the hallway again. The two pups had almost reached the waiting room, when Dundee noticed a familiar face looking down at a chart. "Hey, Doc!"

The man looked up. "Hey Dundee. . ." He noticed Everest next to him, "Finally going home?"

Dundee nodded, "Yep. . ." He looked at Everest and smiled, "home."

* * *

"Everest just called," Ryder said looking from his Pup pad to the others. "They're coming across the bridge."

Chase nodded, "okay Ryder where almost done." He said from the elevator where he and Rocky were hanging the last of the green and gold streamers.

The teen smiled and looked around. "Everything's perfect."

"Good," Skye smiled. "Because there here. . . Everybody hide!"

As Everest hopped of her snowplow, she was met with a kiss from Dundee. A few seconds later, she pulled away. "What was that for?"

He smiled sweetly as they walked to the front doors, "because I love you."

"That's a good reason." She grinned and gave him a quick kiss.

When they got closer, the dingo noticed the lights in the Lookout were off. "Ev, Ryder knew we were coming, right?"

She gave him a mischievous smile. "Yes . . . He knew."

The sliding doors opened. "Then why-"

"Surprise!" everyone in the shouted as the lights came on.  
"Never mind," The ginger pup smiled. Then he cast his green eyes around the room. "Wow, I'm impressed!" He looked around the room again, noting all the smiling faces and kind eyes. At that moment, it hit the ginger pup that, for once, he could feel everyone in the room genuinely and honestly cared about him. After blinking away a few tears, Dundee spoke again. "Thank you."

Ryder had to blink back a few tears himself. "Your welcome, Dundee. . . Welcome to the team." He cleared his throat and clapped his hands together. "Now before we get this party started, I have a couple more surprises for our search and rescue pup." He walked to the elevator and motioned for the dingo to follow. "Come on, I want to show you something upstairs."

The dingo followed, with Chase and Rocky behind him. When the dingo turned around, they gave him their best innocent faces. He raised an eyebrow as Rocky spoke. "What? We just wanted to come with you."

Dundee narrowed his eyes at the pups, but walked into the elevator. Again, the pups followed. Once the elevator doors closed, the ginger pup waited for the elevator to go up, but it didn't. Before he could react however, Rocky placed a blindfold over his green eyes. "What are you doing?"

Even though he couldn't see it, the ginger pup knew Ryder was smiling. "We want to show you your new uniform . . . without you seeing it."

The ginger pup raised an eyebrow. "Well . . . Okay."

Over the next few minutes, he stood while the others put a vest on him. Then felt something like a backpack being placed on his back. And finally, a hat was placed on his head. "Are you finished?"

He could hear Ryder and the pups step back. "I think so," Ryder paused. "Yep, were finished!"

As the teen said the words, Rocky untied the blindfold. "Well," he motioned to a nearby mirror. "What do you think?"

Dundee blinked a couple of times, and then looked at his reflection and smiled wide. He was wearing a vest just like all the other pups wore, except his was khaki with a collar and looked like an explorer shirt. The ginger pup turned to the side to look at the backpack. It resembled a hiking backpack and looked to be made of brown leather. He turned back around to face the mirror and take a better look at his favorite part, the hat he was wearing. "This is awesome guys!"

"Bonza," the teen said making Dundee rolled his eyes. "Glad you like it." Ryder smiled. "Katie and I designed it. . . Are you ready to show everyone?"

The dingo nodded, "definitely."

The teen hit a button, making the doors of the elevator slide open. As Dundee walked out, the people in the room clapped and the pups howled with delight.

A few seconds later Everest walked to him. "You look handsome." She whispered as she nuzzled him softly, "very, handsome."

"Maybe you can. . ." He waggled his eyebrows, "Help me take it off later?" He whispered back.

"Definitely," She smiled.

Suddenly, Ryder cleared his throat making the pups blush. "Sorry Ryder," Dundee said.

Noticing that one side of the dingo's Indiana Jones style hat was pinned up to the crown, Rubble asked. "Why is the brim of your hat pinned up?"

Grateful for the distraction, Dundee turned to the bulldog and smiled. "It's called a Slouch Hat, usually worn by the Australian Military. . . It's usually pinned up with a sun pin usually made of brass, even though this one is the PAW patrol shield. The original reason for only being pinned on one side was so the rifle one would be carrying would clear the hat. Now it's like a symbol of Aussie adventure."

Rubble nodded, "Bonza, I like it." He laughed

"Me too. . . Thanks Ryder." He looked from the teen to Katie who had walked over to them, "And thank you too."

She bent down and stroked his ginger fur. "You're very welcome . . . were glad to have you on the team."

"So are we, dude," Jake said walking over to them.

After a moment or two of silence, Ryder spoke up again. "Alright, we have one more surprise for you. Then we can party." He motioned towards the front doors. "Come on."

Dundee raised an eyebrow and looked at Everest, who in turn just stared at him. "What?" She said in a complete innocence he didn't believe. She pointed at the Lookout doors with her paw. "Go look!"

Still unsure, the ginger pup made his way to the doors. As they slid open, his eyes grew wide as they focused on one thing and one thing only. "Wow. . . Is this for me?"

The husky smiled as she came and stood beside him, "All for you."

* * *

 **Just maybe one or two more chapters to go. . . Please Review!**


	17. The Newest Pup (Part Two)

**_And now, the end is near. . ._**

 **Yep, this is the final chapter. . . Enjoy!**

* * *

Dundee couldn't believe what was sitting in front of him. "Are you sure?" He asked turning to Everest.

She nodded, "all for you Dundee."

He walked closer and gently placed a ginger paw on the hood of the beige colored, dune buggy style jeep. He cast his forest green eyes over the vehicle and took in every square inch. It sat higher than all of the other pup's vehicles and had the most rugged tires he had ever seen. "Those tires are huge!"

Ryder noticed and smiled. "Those were specially made for your jeep. . . It's also been designed to be able to drive up a forty degree incline." He watched as the pups green eyes went wide. "Your jeep is also the first pup car I've ever designed a roof for." Ryder walked over to the jeep and pressed a button on the dashboard. Then watch the pups as _they_ watch a hard metal shell unfold from the back of the jeep, and rest on the top of the vehicle's windshield.

"That was so cool!" Rubble said.

The human laughed. "Glad you think so Rubble, because I'm in the process of designing retractable roofs for all of your vehicles." Ryder smiled as the pups howled and jumped with joy. "It's something I should have done a long time ago to keep my pups safe." He walked closer to the dingo and placed a hand on the ginger pup's fur. "My pups keep everyone else safe, so the least I can do is keep them safe."

Chase smiled and locked his amber eyes on Ryders brown ones. "Ryder sir, by giving us a place to live, you've made us safer than most of the pups that are living on their own. . ."

The other pups nodded in their agreement, making Ryder smile wider. "Thanks, pups." He focused his attention on the ginger pup. "You jeep is closest in design to Chase's truck in the way it drives, so he will be teaching you how to drive it."

Dundee turned to the shepherd, "Just let me know when you have time." Chase nodded and smiled, but the dingo noticed the smile didn't quite reach his amber eyes. Just as he was about to ask Chase what was wrong, Ryder spoke again.

"Alright everyone, back inside." He smiled wide, "let's party!"

* * *

"Why don't you want to dance?" the husky said to the dingo. Everest had been trying to get her mate to dance for the last hour, but he always found an excuse not to or he changed the subject. Now she wanted a straight answer.

He turned away slightly, and blushed. "Ev. . . I can't dance. . . I've always been too shy."

She raised an eyebrow, "you sang to thousands of people in your last life." She whispered.

He shook his head, "It's complicated. . . But eventually I knew if I was going to make it in life, I had to get over it eventually." Dundee gave her a peck on the cheek, and then he whispered in her ear. "That's why I started singing instead . . . follow me." He walked past her, and the husky smiled as she followed him to the music player in the middle of the room.

"What are you doing?" she whispered.

He smiled wider. "What I do. . ." music started to play, "sing." He moved a nearby microphone in between them. As the last song ended, he spoke. "Alright everyone, this one is for all the lovebirds out there, including my very own love bird." The music for a familiar song started to play; the dingo locked eyes with Everest, and began to sing. . .

 ** _When I fall in love, it will be forever. . ._**

 ** _Or I'll never, fall in love._**

 ** _In a restless world like this is._**

 ** _Love has ended before it's begun._**

 ** _And too many moonlight kisses,_**

 ** _Seem to cool on the warmth of the sun._**

He looked out over the room and smiled, everyone in the room was in love with someone. Alex was sitting in a nearby chair nursing his broken leg. . . And holding hands with a girl named Emily, who had come to visit the blue eyed boy several times in the hospital. He even noticed Mayor Goodway had her head on Mr. Porters shoulder. Dundee smiled as he continued to sing. . .

 ** _When I give my heart, it will be completely._**

 ** _Or, I'll never give my heart._**

 ** _And the moment, I can feel that._**

 ** _You'll feel that way too._**

 ** _Is when I fall in love with you. . ._**

As he finished singing, Everest moved closer the microphone and began to sing to him. . .

 ** _When I fall in love, it will be forever._**

 ** _Or I'll never fall in love._**

 ** _In a reckless world, like this is._**

 ** _Love has ended before it's begun._**

 ** _And too many moonlight kisses,_**

 ** _Seem to cool in the warmth of the sun._**

He moved to the microphone as well. And almost nose to nose, they sang the last part of the song in perfect harmony. . .

 ** _When I give my heart, it will be completely._**

 ** _Or I'll never give my heart._**

 ** _And the moment, I can feel that._**

 ** _You'll feel that way too._**

Everest sang solo. . .

 ** _Is when I fall in love. . ._**

Then Dundee . . .

 ** _Is when I fall in love. . ._**

Finally, they sang together. . .

 ** _Is when I fall in love . . . With . . . You . . ._**

After holding the note for a few seconds, they pressed their lips together for a few long moments. Finally Everest pulled away and smiled. "I love you, Dundee."

He looked deeply in her ice blue eyes. "I love you too, Ev." As he kissed her again, he realized something. This girl he was in love with, the pups and people he met in Adventure Bay and the job he now had with the Paw Patrol. . .

Those were the reasons why he was given this second chance.

This was the life he was meant to have.

* * *

 **Big thanks to _Chaseandmarshalfan, Zerofullbuster,_ and _AleksanderInozuka_ for the multiple positive reviews.**

 **And a bigger thanks to _MarshalB_ , _Lovepawpatrol_ , and _PBJNachos_ for reviewing after pretty much every chapter and for keeping me going.**

 **Finally, thanks to everyone else who read the story!**


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